Mass of Ages - Summer 2022

Mass of Ages The quarterly magazine of the Latin Mass Society

Issue 212 – Summer 2022 – FREE

Report from The Society of St Tarcisius

An interview with Abbé Brice Meissonnier, parish priest of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini Dr Halliday Sutherland: a remarkable Catholic convert remembered Plus: news, views, Mass listings and nationwide reports

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SUMMER 2022

Contents

CONTENTS

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Chairman’s Message Joseph Shaw on what we should all be promoting

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LMS Year Planner – Notable events

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Liturgical calendar

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Holiday reading Joseph Shaw reviews six short but important books – none longer than 250 pages – which will fit in a back pocket for the summer holidays, from classic reprints to brand new compositions

11 Want to help advance the Kingdom of God? Consider joining the team of the Saint Benedict Academy 12 Roman report Diane Montagna talks to Abbé Brice Meissonnier, parish priest of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini 14 Cathedral Church of the Holy Family At a time when Ukraine is very much in the news, Paul Waddington takes a look at the London cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

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16 Reports from around the country What’s happening where you are 26 World News Paul Waddington reports from around the Globe 28 Canterbury Pilgrimage 29 Family matters Our love of God should not remain purely theoretical, says James Preece 30 Art and devotion Caroline Farey on a late 15th century Netherlandish picture

by Juan de Flandes 32 The power of tradition Joseph Shaw reviews the Raphael exhibition at the National Gallery until 31 July 34 Mass listings 40 Unsung hero Charles A. Coulombe remembers a remarkable and wise Catholic convert 42 The work of the Holy Ghost Mary O’Regan suggests we pray for our detractors 43 Rich and malty Sebastian Morello on the ales of The Chiltern Brewery 44 Champion of Our Lady Devotion to the Rosary was revived in the late 15th century by a Dominican Friar, as Alan Frost explains 46 Crossword

© Joseph Shaw

The Latin Mass Society 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH Tel: 020 7404 7284 editor@lms.org.uk Mass of Ages No. 212 Due to the considerable volume of emails and letters received at Mass of Ages it is regrettably not always possible to reply to all correspondents.

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PATRONS: Sir Adrian Fitzgerald, Bt; Rt Hon. Lord Gill; Sir James Macmillan, CBE; Lord Moore of Etchingham; Prof. Thomas Pink.

COMMITTEE: Dr Joseph Shaw – Chairman; Kevin Jones – Secretary; David Forster – Treasurer; Roger Wemyss Brooks – Vice President; Paul Waddington – Vice President; Alisa Kunitz-Dick; Antonia Robinson; Nicholas Ross; Alastair Tocher; Neil Addison.

Registered UK Charity No. 248388

MASS OF AGES: Editor: Tom Quinn Design: GADS Ltd Printers: Cambrian

46 Classified advertisements Fr Lawrence Lew OP enrolling new members of the Society of St Tarcisius at St Dominic's, Haverstock Hill.

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DISCLAIMER: Please note that the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Latin Mass Society or the Editorial Board. Great care is taken to credit photographs and seek permission before publishing, though this is not always possible. If you have a query regarding copyright, please contact the Editor. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission.

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

For the good of souls Joseph Shaw on what we should all be promoting

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he dust continues to settle on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes, and the consequences remain mixed. Some people have been badly affected by it; in many places it has made no practical difference; in a few the ancient Mass has continued to make progress. All things considered we must be grateful to the bishops of England and Wales—or to nearly all of them—for their common sense, moderation, and pastoral concern.

I never doubted that the celebration of the ‘former Missal’, or whatever we are supposed to call it, would survive Traditionis Custodes, but this reality is becoming evident even to those least friendly to it. We do not have to wait for a change of policy in Rome to go back to the work of promoting this liturgy: we have never stopped it.

Readers may have seen a leaked letter from a Roman Congregation fretting about this word ‘promote’, which appears in the Latin Mass Society’s legal name: ‘The Latin Mass Society for the Promotion of the Traditional Roman Rite’. It is not clear, however, what the problem is supposed to be. Pope Francis tells us that bishops should permit the old Mass for the good of souls: ‘to provide for the good of those who are rooted in the previous form of celebration’, to quote his exact words. It follows that it must be ok to promote it for the good of souls. The good of souls is what all Catholics should be promoting, and they should do this through those pious practices, devotions, and liturgical forms which the Church nurtures for this purpose.

It would perhaps have surprised the Catholics of the middle of the 20th century to see what an important role the laity have today in this work. The Congregation—soon to be renamed ‘Dicastery’—for Divine Worship does not wish priests to list the Traditional Mass in their parish newsletters, which has led to some ambiguous phrasing appearing, but readers can rely on the Latin Mass Society’s Mass Listings, printed here in Mass of Ages and online, and can join our Telegram group for updates. Similarly, the Latin Mass Society continues to organise pilgrimages, including our great walking

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'Once upon a time there was something called "Benediction", and this was what they used for it.'

Hubert Van Zeller (Br Choleric) Cracks in the Clouds 1976.

pilgrimage from Ely to Walsingham, and Masses, devotions, and training opportunities all over the country. The St Catherine’s Trust Summer School, supported by the Latin Mass Society, will take place again this year after a two-year gap caused by Covid.

This lay activity, however, is not an anomaly, but a return to a longerterm normality. Wealthy families and guilds and sodalities of working men, housewives, and even children, built and supported churches, stipended priests, and organised devotions, processions, and pilgrimages, throughout the Middle Ages. Again, religious orders of men, as well as of women, were generally founded not as communities of priests, but of men in the lay state with a priest to say Mass for them: and sometimes not even that.

The Second Vatican Council emphasised the role of the laity in evangelising the secular world; what it could not have anticipated is the way that the clergy

would lose their moral authority in the eyes of the world, as a result of scandals.

The Latin Mass Society cannot substitute for priests, but we can support them: and in the realm of the Traditional Mass, this support has always been crucial. We follow the example, as well as invoke the intercession, of the Society’s two Patron Saints: St Margaret Clitherow and St Richard Gwynn, married lay people who laid down their lives to promote the Church’s ancient liturgy and support the priests who celebrated it. Such devotion made the suppression of the Catholic Faith impossible in the Penal times of the 16th and 17th centuries. Our devotion, in these much less dangerous times, will ensure that the same Mass and associated devotions will not be eradicated in the 21st century either. However often we are written off as dying, we remember, this Easter season, the words of G.K. Chesterton: ‘We follow a God who knows His way out of the grave.’

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YEAR PLANNER

LMS Year Planner – Notable Events At the time of going to press the following events are planned.

St Tarcisius Server Training Day and Guild of St Clare Vestment Mending Saturday 21 May. St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS at 10.30am. Men and boys will be able to learn all roles for Low Mass and Sung Mass, and High Mass if there is demand. Booking is required, see our website for details.

Iota Unum Talk Friday 27 May, in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory, Warwick Street, London. The speaker will be Dr Jeremy Pilch on ‘St John Henry Newman and Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces’. Doors open at 6:30pm for the talk at 7pm; entrance via Golden Square.

Iota Unum Talk Friday 17 June, in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory, Warwick Street, London. The speaker will be Dr Timothy Stanley on ‘Whatever Happened to Tradition?” Doors open at 6:30pm for the talk at 7pm; entrance via Golden Square.

LMS Annual General Meeting and Mass Saturday 30 July St Mary Moorfields Church and hall, Eldon Street, London.

Member will receive formal notification of the meeting with this edition of Mass of Ages. The Mass is open to everyone.

St Catherine’s Trust Summer School Sunday 31 July – Saturday 6 August. This will be held at the St Cassian’s Retreat Centre, about a mile south west of Kintbury, Berkshire. The School will include Sung Mass or High Mass in the traditional Roman rite each day, plus daily Rosary and Sung Compline. See www. stcatherinestrust.org for details.

Residential Latin and Greek Course Monday 8 August Saturday 13 August. Park Place, Wickham, Fareham PO17 5HA. The course is designed to assist clergy who wish to learn or improve their Latin in order to celebrate Mass in Latin, and for all who may be interested in the language from devotional,

cultural, or scholarly motives. For the first time, in 2022, the Latin Mass Society will be offering New Testament Greek teaching alongside the Latin Course. See our website for further details.

Annual Walking Pilgrimage from Ely to Walsingham Thursday 25 – Sunday 28 August. The pilgrimage starts with registration in Ely on the evening of Thursday and concludes with High Mass in the Chapel of Reconciliation at 2pm followed by devotions in Walsingham on Sunday. There is an early bird offer of 10% if you book before Ascension Day – 26 May. For those unable to undertake the walking pilgrimage a coach will leave London on the Sunday to enable day pilgrims to join the walkers for Mass in Walsingham. Full details on our website.

LOOKING AHEAD Pilgrimage to West Grinstead Monday 29 August. Shrine Church of Our Lady of Consolation, Park Lane, West Grinstead RH13 8LT. Sung Mass at 2pm followed by refreshments, then Rosary and Benediction. Annual Pilgrimage in honour of the Chideock Martyrs Saturday 17 September at 12 noon. Annual Mass in St Augustine’s Snave on Romney Marsh Saturday 24 September at 12 noon. Annual Requiem Mass in Westminster Cathedral Saturday 5 November at 2.30pm. Mass of Reparation for Abortions, Bedford Saturday 12 November at 12 noon.

Details, and where appropriate booking facilities, of all events can be found on our website.

APOLOGY AND CORRECTIONS In the Spring 2022 edition of Mass of Ages, we inadvertently published a picture of St John Henry Newman which has clearly been doctored. This was an unfortunate editorial mistake and was at no time part of the text of the article submitted for publication. We apologise for any upset this might have caused.

In the Architecture feature on St Mary’s Chislehurst, a picture described as William Wilkinson Wardell was in fact Augustus Pugin.

The correct website address for Saint Austin Press is saintaustinpress.com

FACTFILE Details of all our events can be found on our website, together with booking and payment facilities where applicable. Go to lms.org.uk

Please pray for the souls of all members who have died recently Requiescant in Pace

Josephine Barrell Derek Barrell Patrick Brady Brian Burns (Deacon) Fionnuala Duane Michael Howe Peter Jowitt Francis (Sam) Leeder (Priest) Anthony Murphy Doreen Perks William (Bill) Quirk Robert Williams Every effort is made to ensure that this list is accurate and upto-date. However, if you know of a recently deceased member whose name has not, so far, appeared on our prayer memorial, then please contact the LMS, see page 3 for contact details.

The LMS relies heavily on legacies to support its income.

Please consider leaving us a legacy when you make your Will.

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SUMMER 2022

LITURGICAL CALENDAR

Liturgical calendar MAY SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

4TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER II CL W ST UBALDUS B C III CL W ST PASCHAL BAYLON C III CL W ST VENANTIUS M III CL R ST PETER CELESTINE P C III CL W ST BERNARD OF SIENNA C III CL W CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W 5TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER II CL W FERIA IV CL W FERIA IV CL W VIGIL OF THE ASCENSION II CL W THE ASCENSION I CL W ST BEDE THE VENERABLE C D III CL W ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY B C III CL W SUNDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION II CL W FERIA IV CL W THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, QUEEN II CL W

JUNE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

ST ANGELA MERICI V III CL W FERIA IV CL W FERIA IV CL W VIGIL OF PENTECOST I CL R PENTECOST I CL R WHIT MONDAY I CL R WHIT TUESDAY I CL R WHIT WEDNESDAY (EMBER DAY) I CL R WHIT THURSDAY I CL R WHIT FRIDAY (EMBER DAY) I CL R WHIT SATURDAY (EMBER DAY) I CL R THE MOST HOLY TRINITY I CL W ST ANTHONY OF PADUA C D III CL (PRIV.) W ST BASIL THE GREAT B C D III CL (PRIV.) W FERIA IV CL G CORPUS CHRISTI I CL W ST GREGORY BARBARIGO B C III CL W ST EPHREM THE SYRIAN DEACON C D III CL W 2ND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G FERIA IV CL G ST ALOYSIUS GONZAGA C III CL (PRIV.) W ST PAULINUS B C III CL W FERIA IV CL G THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS I CL W THE NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST I CL W 3RD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G FERIA IV CL G VIGIL OF SS PETER & PAUL APP II CL V SS PETER & PAUL APP I CL R THE COMMEMORATION OF ST PAUL AP III CL (PRIV.) R

JULY FRI

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SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST I CL R THE VISITATION OF THE BVM II CL W 4TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G FERIA IV CL G ST ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA C III CL W FERIA IV CL G SS CYRIL & METHODIUS BB CC III CL (PRIV.) W ST ELIZABETH Q W III CL W CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W 5TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G FERIA IV CL G ST JOHN GUALBERTI AB III CL W FERIA IV CL G ST BONAVENTURE B C D III CL (PRIV.) W ST HENRY EMPEROR C III CL W CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W 6TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G

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MON TUE WED THU FRI

18 19 20 21 22

SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU

23 24 25 26 27 28

FRI SAT SUN

29 30 31

AUGUST MON 1 TUE 2 WED THU FRI

3 4 5

SAT

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SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

ST CAMILLUS DE LELLIS C III CL W ST VINCENT DE PAUL C III CL (PRIV.) W ST JEROME EMILIANI C III CL W ST LAURENCE OF BRINDISI C D III CL W ST MARY MAGDALEN PENITENT III CL (PRIV.) W ST APOLLINARIS B M III CL R 7TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G ST JAMES AP II CL R ST ANNE MOTHER OF THE BVM II CL W FERIA IV CL G SS NAZARIUS & CELSUS MM & VICTOR I P M & INNOCENT I P C III CL R ST MARTHA V III CL (PRIV.) W CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W 8TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G FERIA IV CL G ST ALPHONSUS MARIA LIGUORI B C D III CL (PRIV.) W FERIA IV CL G ST DOMINIC C III CL (PRIV.) W THE DEDICATION OF ST MARY OF THE SNOWS III CL (PRIV.) W THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST II CL W 9TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G ST JOHN MARY VIANNEY C III CL (PRIV.) W VIGIL OF ST LAURENCE M III CL V ST LAURENCE M II CL R FERIA IV CL G ST CLARE V III CL (PRIV.) W CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W

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BOOKS

Holiday reading Joseph Shaw reviews six short but important books – none longer than 250 pages – which will fit in a back pocket for the summer holidays, from classic reprints to brand new compositions

Tito Casini: Torn Tunic: Letter of a Catholic on the ‘Liturgical Reform’ Angelico Press has a project of reprinting ‘Traditionalist Classics,’ and among other gems this important book is once again easily available in English translation. First published in 1967, in Italian, the book was responding to the disappearance of Latin from the Catholic liturgy in 1965, accompanied by some rubrical changes, rather than to the Novus Ordo Missae of 1969.

Casini’s impassioned defence of the ancient liturgical tradition anticipates (and influenced) many themes found in later traditionalist writings. We must not forget the perspective of the first generation of Catholics who fought for the ancient Mass, who were able to describe the devastating effects of the changes on their contemporaries: the old lady Casini describes, who earns a rebuke from a priest for getting out her rosary during Mass; the villagers of the parish choir who had for decades not

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only accompanied Sunday services with Gregorian chant but also sung at each other’s funerals, whose services would no longer be required; the children who shocked their teacher by informing him that they preferred the Old Mass. The losses to the Church these anecdotes imply have come to tragic fruition in the years since then.

Of special interest is Casini’s development of an argument about the value of Latin, against the view (as he summarises it) that ‘if I don’t understand, I don’t pray.’ Casini points out that the spiritual atmosphere evoked

by Latin stimulated the devotion of the people. Understanding the liturgy is always imperfect, and even the most progressive liturgist would surely agree that devotion, which is a matter of spiritual engagement, is of greater value than understanding, a matter of intellectual engagement.

I have written at greater length on this book on the blog OnePeterFive.

Fr Bryan Houghton: Unwanted Priest: The Autobiography of a Latin Mass Exile Another Traditionalist Classic from Angelico is Fr Houghton’s autobiographical Unwanted Priest .

With this the publisher has secured a first, however, for although it was published in French in 1990 (as Pretre rejeté), the English version never made it into print.

This has now been put right, and Houghton’s life story is available in both languages. It is a fascinating one. The son of Protestant English parents, he had much of his education in France, and became a Catholic as a young man. He had independent financial means, and consistently used this to further the apostolates he was given as a priest. While working for Northampton Diocese, he was respected as an intellectual and also elected Dean by his brother priests.

Nevertheless, he was the only priest in England and Wales to resign from his position rather than celebrate the Novus Ordo Missae , in 1969.

He spent his remaining years in France, where he supported an early Latin Mass apostolate, with the tacit permission of the local bishop, in a privately owned chapel. He wrote two novels well worth reading: Mitre and Crook and Judith’s Marriage , and died in 1992.

Fr Houghton’s description and analysis of what was going on in his lifetime are sober and perceptive. He distances himself from Archbishop Lefebvre, but is merciless in his assessment of the progressive faction which led the changes to the liturgy and went on to attempt a revolution in the conception of the priesthood.

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BOOKS Like Casini, Fr Houghton was particularly sensitive to the experience of the laity, and understood the laity’s mode of engagement with the liturgy as few priests of his generation did.

Unlike them, as a convert he had been an adult Catholic layman himself: seminarians of that time typically went from one enclosed Catholic institution, a school, to another, the seminary, at a very young age. The laity, Fr Houghton realised, did not participate in the Mass despite the Latin and the obscurity: rather, the sacredness evinced by the ancient Mass created a setting for them to engage in contemplative prayer.

points out that the rituals themselves are creative and playful, decorating the bare essentials of our interactions: they are, in fact, art.

When ritual is stripped away, what is left is a featureless collection of basic human needs. Wisdom gives way to data. Romantic interactions give way to pornography. The invitation given us by social media to invent ourselves as we like turns our leisure into work: a performance for sale to Big Tech.

Han gives us an updated version of the critique of modern progress which has resounded down the centuries.

As the apostles of homogenisation, rationalism, and efficiency have advanced their agenda, the brave new world of freedom and leisure seems to have grown further away than ever, and the longing for tradition in all spheres of life has become ever more urgent.

I have written at greater length on this book for European Conser vative.

T he

Byung-Chul Han: The Disappearance of Rituals: A Topology of the Present Of a very different type is this book. Han is not a Catholic, and this book was published in 2020. Han is of Korean heritage, living and working (as a philosopher) in Germany, where he has absorbed the concerns and the terminology of post-modernism.

While his cultural and intellectual starting points will be alien to many readers, this short book sets out the connection between the disappearance of the rituals of traditional societies - liturgy, social rituals, politeness, feelings of belonging to place and community - and the modern epidemic of loneliness and narcissism.

For Han, the destruction of conventions and forms of life – how to greet someone, for example – does not beget creativity but destroys it. He

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Hugh Ross Williamson: The Great Betrayal: Thoughts on the Deformation of the Mass Hugh Ross Williamson, a founding figure of the Latin Mass Society, composed two important pamphlets in the early days of the movement: The Modern Mass: A Reversion to the Reforms of Cranmer (1969) and The Great Betrayal: Some Thoughts on the Invalidity of the New Mass (1970). These have been republished

by Arouca Press, with preface by

his daughter, Julia Ashenden, and a foreword by me.

The central concern of both pamphlets is the replacement of liturgical texts with clear theological implications, notably on the sacrificial nature of the Mass, with ambiguity and silence.

This happened above all in the new Eucharistic Prayers and the Offertory.

The same thing happened to clear language about the necessity of penance, the intercession of the Saints, sinfulness and punishment, and our need of God’s grace. This has been documented in Lauren Pristas’ The Collects of the Roman Missals and in Matthew Hazell’s Index Lectionum, and elsewhere.

Ross Williamson was correct in surmising ecumenism as at least part of the motive, as we know from the words of the architect of the reform, Annibale Bugnini. Again, he was right to worry about the effect of this silence and ambiguity on the beliefs of ordinary Catholics. I quote Pope John Paul II in my foreword ( Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003) 10): “At times one encounters an extremely reductive understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. Stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet.” This would hardly have been possible if every Mass being celebrated included the traditional Offertory and the Roman Canon.

Hugh Ross Williamson worried that this theological ambiguity impinged on the objective intention of the rites as a whole, and could make them sacramentally invalid.

To be fair to him, he proposes this as something to be investigated, not as something proven. My quick answer to this argument is that (apparently at the personal insistence of Pope Paul VI) the Roman Canon was retained, almost without change, in the reformed Missal, and this makes it impossible to say that this Missal as a whole lacks a clear presentation of the theology of sacrifice. It must be admitted, nevertheless, that it is hardly an ideal situation that one must burrow into little-used options to find a clear expression of such an important aspect of the Church’s Eucharistic Faith.

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BOOKS

Peter Kwasniewski: True Obedience: A Guide to Discernment in Challenging Times In the aftermath of Traditionis Custodes , as in the aftermath of the liturgical reform, the question of the nature of the obedience owed to ecclesiastical superiors has come to the fore. The Latin Mass Society has published commentaries on the legal status of various provisions of the recent documents restricting the Old Mass, but Peter Kwasniewski makes the bold argument that such restrictions lack force simply because the Holy See cannot validly command what is contrary to the ‘common good of the Church’. He applies the same argument to Covid restrictions.

Like the argument of Hugh Ross Williamson, this rewards examination, even though I would reject it. The central claim of the book is that the ancient liturgy is an indispensable part of the Church’s ‘common good’. I am sympathetic to this, and much could be quoted from the Papal Magisterium to support it, including Pope Benedict’s famous statement, ‘what was sacred then is sacred now’. Nevertheless, if the liturgy (of any kind) is not the only constituent of the common good, then there may be occasions on which it must be restricted for the sake of other considerations, in order to promote the common good considered overall.

This happens when a bishop suspends the celebration of the liturgy in time of plague, or forbids

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a priest from celebrating publicly because of scandalous behaviour.

Whether the current restrictions on the Traditional Mass can be justified in terms of the Church’s overall common good is an important question. The Letter accompanying Traditionis Custodes is clearly an attempt to make the case for this, but the lack of clarity over some of its central contentions makes this case difficult to assess.

The tradition is very clear that a law which fails to do good is not binding ‘in conscience’, though it may be better to go along with it to avoid scandal. This being so, there is some urgency to the question, which has been consistently posed by those attached to the ancient Mass, of why this liturgy is being restricted: in what way , and by whom , is its celebration or attendance detrimental to the good of the Church?

My own experience has been that each time I ask the question of someone who I thought should know, I receive a different answer.

Stuart Chessman: Faith of our Fathers: A Brief History of Catholic Traditionalism in the United States.

The United States is the location of a major part of what we can call the Traditional Movement, but over the decades it has not had a single, continuing organisation or institution to represent it or, for that matter, to keep records. Stuart Chessman, who blogs

at The Society of St Hugh of Cluny, has put together a number of articles about the American movement’s past and present, which will do something to prevent some important events and individuals disappearing from public consciousness, notwithstanding the geographical bias of the book.

Chessman explains the early role of those ‘conservative’ Catholics who refused to get involved in the liturgical debate; the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual collapse of Triumph magazine; and its partial replacement by the Latin Mass Magazine. Chessman notes the eagerness of Triumph to rally round the papacy following the condemnation of artificial contraception in 1968, which led to a tension in the magazine’s position as it continued to document the institutional failures of the Church in America. similar rallying to the A establishment cause by conservative Catholics took place in the latter years of Pope John Paul II’s reign. This was led by Opus Dei and the Legionaires of Christ, and took place despite the poor episcopal treatment of conservative institutions like Ignatius Press and EWTN. It was particularly unfortunate in blinding some conservative Catholic commentators to the grim beginnings of the clerical abuse revelations.

Relations between conservative and traditionalist Catholics have, since then, been transformed for the better.

One useful feature of the book is its inclusion of some historical documents. Bishop Donohoe of Fresno threatening excommunication to traditionalists in 1976; a letter from Archbishop Weakland which had to be presented by those attending a permitted Traditional Mass in 1985; a questionnaire designed to ascertain the theological soundness of would-be Old Mass-goers from the Archdiocese of New York from the same year; and so on. It is well to be reminded of some of the sillier aspects of the persecution of Catholics who, as Pope Benedict was later to describe them, were ‘totally rooted in the faith of the Church’, and wished only to worship in continuity with their predecessors in the Faith.

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SUMMER 2022

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ROMAN REPORT

A grace and an honour Diane Montagna talks to Abbé Brice Meissonnier, parish priest of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini Don Brice, you were given the mission to be parish priest of the FSSP parish of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in May 2020. Can you tell us a little about your background?

I was born in Avignon, France (the other City of the Popes!) in 1969. After studying with the Jesuit Fathers in my hometown, I entered the FSSP seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany, in 1989, at the very beginning of the FSSP. I was ordained priest on 29 June 1996. I spent the first 11 years of my ministry in France, mainly in Versailles. Then I spent a year in Italy, in Venice at the church of San Simon Piccolo.

In September 2020, I was appointed parish priest of the personal parish of Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome.

On 4 February 4 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter were received in private audience

by Pope Francis for nearly an hour.

Afterward, the FSSP said that “in the course of the audience, the Pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes.” Pope Francis then issued a decree concerning the FSSP, dated 11 February 2022, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. What is the significance of this decree? What was your reaction when you learned of it? And what does it mean for the FSSP’s Rome parish?

Obviously, this meeting with the Holy Father, and the decree that followed, were a great joy for us, and I would dare to say also a great relief and not short of a small miracle. Indeed, the Pope signed this decree on the very day the whole FSSP was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Certainly, we were convinced we had the right to carry on with the traditional liturgy, but this confirmation, from the mouth and hand of the Pope himself, brought great peace to all the members and faithful of the FSSP, together with a confirmation that the Church could not renege on the promise she had made in 1988 to our valiant and courageous

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Abbé Brice Meissonnier: ‘Keeping this heritage begins with the celebration of the Traditional Mass’

founders. It also seems clear, even if not mentioned in the Holy Father's decree, that it concerns all the institutes that were founded and approved by Rome for the celebration of the Traditional Mass.

As we understand it, the Pope made this clear to our two confreres in the private audience he granted them. The Holy Father was very clear that Traditionis Custodes was not written for us! So, there is no real change for our Roman parish, and this should also be the case for all FSSP apostolates worldwide.

Can you tell us a little about the history of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, particularly the parish’s connection to St Philip Neri?

It is both a grace and an honour to have been entrusted with the church of Trinità dei Pellegrini e dei Convalescenti as our personal parish church. For, in addition to being remarkably located in the historical centre of Rome, our church has a fabulous history and heritage closely linked to the “second apostle of Rome,” St Philip Neri.

Indeed, the very neighbourhood in which

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ROMAN REPORT we are located was the privileged place of his apostolate throughout his life, and in particular at the beginning of his life in Rome.

Before he became a cleric, under the impulse and spiritual direction of his confessor, Persiano Rosa (who is buried in the choir of our church), St Philip had the idea, together with some devout friends, of founding a pious association to help each other grow in devotion and charity, and to take care of the many pilgrims who would visit Rome on the occasion of the great jubilee of 1550.

Thus was born the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims and Convalescents. After meeting in several small churches in the neighbourhood, the Archconfraternity settled in a small medieval chapel dedicated to St Benedict, which later became our church of Santissima Trinità. With his confreres, St Philip worked with great fervour to welcome, feed, care for and lodge the many pilgrims, most of them poor, who had come to Rome on foot (in conditions that one can imagine for the time), in order to benefit from the graces of the Great Jubilee. The success was such that many wanted to join this brotherhood, including members of the great Roman families and even cardinals. It was then decided to build a larger and more beautiful church, dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, on the location of the existing chapel, together with a large hostel to house the pilgrims in the best possible conditions.

Outside of pilgrimages, convalescents would be received, since at the time there were not many facilities for them.

St Philip is therefore the founder of the Archconfraternity and its church, and its greatest glory.

The archconfraternity founded by St Philip Neri has found a new impetus and a new start recent years. What are the aims of the archconfraternity?

And what role do you believe it can play today in the parish and the wider community?

As you will have understood, the objectives of our Archconfraternity are spiritual, charitable and fraternal.

Spiritual because the first purpose that St Philip, our founder, gave to his confreres was praying together pious exercises such as the rosary, Stations of the Cross, or parts of the Divine Office, and especially adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He was the great propagator of the Forty Hours Devotion, which was carried our monthly in our

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church. A few years ago, we resumed this solemn adoration of the Forty Hours on the eve of Lent, and it has become increasingly successful each year.

Our archconfraternity also has, as its founder wished, an important charitable activity, with a monthly collection and distribution of food to families or people in need. It also collects other donations, which are then redistributed, in particular to people living on the streets.

The Archconfraternity will serve them a lunch at the end of May in the large gallery (lent to us for the occasion) which runs alongside our church and which was previously used to welcome pilgrims.

We are also considering how to give back to the Archconfraternity one of its first missions, the reception and care of pilgrims. Even though we no longer have the large buildings that were used to welcome pilgrims, we would like to facilitate the pilgrimage of the many who come to the Eternal City every year and who are attached to the Traditional Mass.

We would like such a facility, or similar means, to be operational at the latest for the great jubilee of 2025.

Shortly after you arrived at the parish, one began to notice little signs of renovation, and they have only increased. What is your philosophy for restoring a parish church, and what are your long-term plans for Santissima Trinità?

As I said at the beginning of this interview, it is a great honour but also a great responsibility to be in charge of a church like ours, with its fabulous history and heritage! The least we can do in this day and age, when we can hardly match the artists and workers of past centuries, is to restore and maintain this heritage that our fathers have passed on to us, because today we have, if nothing else, the technical means to do so, enabling us in turn pass it on to future generations.

Otherwise what will be left after us?

For us, keeping this heritage begins with the celebration of the Traditional Mass. Indeed, our church was built for our liturgy, and our liturgy is perfectly adapted to its architecture, its furnishings and its layout. There is no need for adaptation or transformation.

On the contrary! Since our arrival, the first restoration was therefore to put everything back in its place, to use the places and objects according to their original function, to clean and maintain this sacred place as required by the laws of the Church. Then we had to move up a gear, because time has taken its toll and Trinità has not benefited

from any major work for at least eighty years. So we started slowly, within our means. In particular, I wanted to have the bell ringing system electrified, and have an additional bell made. Bells that ring give rhythm to the religious life of a parish, and are the voice of God in a neighbourhood, a protection for its inhabitants and the external sign of a religious life.

Now we have greater ambitions, since we want to launch the complete restoration of our church. Starting, of course, with the magnificent façade

by De Sanctis, which today is rather shabby and does not reflect the image and vitality of our parish. It is certainly the last church façade in Rome that has not yet been restored. Then, we need to completely redo the electricity and lighting of our church, which are quite obsolete and even dangerous. After that we need to restore the great organ, which has been completely silent for at least fifty years. This is very damaging for the performance of our liturgy. At present we only have a small electronic organ. Then there is the sacristy, the side chapels (with their paintings and frescoes which have become completely illegible over time) and where about ten Masses are celebrated every day, etc...

So, as you can see, there is a lot to do, but we have the will, and with the help of providence and benefactors we will succeed! Our church is a showcase for the Traditional Mass and for the Fraternity of Saint Peter, and this is also the reason why we want it to be open all day and every day of the year, to be clean and tidy, and to be beautiful so that it is easier to meet the Good Lord. For, as the Holy Curé of Ars used to say, nothing should be too beautiful for Him! In the image of what the Church should be, every church must be beautiful, orderly, and welcoming!

I would like to encourage your readers to come and visit us here in Rome during a stay or a pilgrimage.

The parish of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini is also the parish of all those throughout the world who are attached to the Traditional Mass, the treasure of the Church and the masterpiece of the West. They will be able to attend, in an exceptional setting, the celebration of a well-celebrated liturgy in the spirit of the great Roman Tradition.

You can also follow our activities on Instagram (trinitadeipellegrini), Facebook (Parrocchia SS. Trinità dei Pellegrini) or on our website (Parrocchia SS. Trinità dei Pellegrini).

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ARCHITECTURE

Cathedral Church of the Holy Family At a time when Ukraine is very much in the news, Paul Waddington takes a look at the London cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

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n a very fashionable area of Mayfair, only 100 yards from Oxford Street and close to Grosvenor Square, can be found the Cathedral of the Holy Family. It is the cathedral church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of London. The word eparchy is the term used in Orthodox Churches to describe a diocese. Before describing this very fine building, we should, perhaps, say something about the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGKC) is a sui juris Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome. It is the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches, currently having around 4.1 million members worldwide. Within Ukraine itself, the UGCC is the third largest denomination, behind the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (subservient to the Moscow Patriarchate) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (recognised by the Patriarchate of Constantinople).

The west frontage of the cathedral The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates in Lviv and the western Parishes developed oblasts of Ukraine, but has a significant In 1957, the Apostolic Exarchate for diaspora in a dozen countries, including Poland, the United States and Canada. In Ukrainian Catholics in England and Wales was formed - an exarchate being a England, there are thought to be about mission territory with a status somewhat 25,000 members, mostly concentrated below that of an eparchy or diocese. in London and the industrial regions William (later Cardinal) Godfrey, the around Birmingham and Manchester. then Archbishop of Westminster, Towards the end of the nineteenth became the first Exarch and served in century, Ukrainians began to settle in that role until his death in 1963, when England, especially in the Manchester he was replaced by Bishop Hornyak, a area. Although they had no resident native Ukrainian. Gradually, Ukrainian priest of their own, a priest from Greek Catholic parishes were developed, Belgium or France would occasionally and these now number thirteen, mostly visit, and a community built up around the Church of St Chad, which is now in the Midlands and around Manchester. the home of the Manchester Oratory.

Finally, in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI It was not until the Second World War, raised the Exarchate to become the when priests were sent to minister to Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Ukrainian troops, that this community Family, giving it independence from the gained a regular chaplain.

Archdiocese of Westminster.

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The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church acquired its Cathedral of the Holy Family in 1967 with the help of Cardinal Heenan, who funded the purchase of the “Kings Weigh House Church”, a redundant Nonconformist chapel in Mayfair. This building, and the particular sect that occupied it, had an interesting history, dating back to the Act of Uniformity of 1662, when part of a congregation in the City of London seceded from the Established Church and set up its own independent chapel. Its first premises were in Cornhill above a building where imported goods were weighed for taxation purposes. This Congregational sect became known as the Kings Weigh House Church, a name that it retained throughout its 300 years of existence. It later moved to a site now occupied by Monument Underground Station. The building of the Metropolitan & District Railway forced further moves ending in 1891 with a new and very fine chapel being built in the West End. At its new location, the Kings Weigh House Church, as it was still popularly known, gained a reputation for lively preaching, most notably by one Rev. Dr W E Orchard, the minister who was in charge from 1913 to 1932. Although a Congregationalist, he has been described as idiosyncratic, and was accused of having Romish tendencies.

Some sources suggest he reconciled to the Catholic faith before he died.

During his tenure, the eastern end was converted into a chancel by relocating the organ and inserting additional windows which were filled with stained glass. The remodelled chancel was provided with a marble floor.

After his departure the congregation began to decline and was dealt a major blow in 1940 when a bomb fell on the church during a communion service

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ARCHITECTURE

The interior showing iconostasis and gallery

destroying part of the roof and killing the minister’s wife. The roof was not fully repaired until 1953, and the congregation continued to decline until the church finally closed in 1965.

It seems that the repair to the roof was imperfectly carried out, as there was a further collapse in 2007, causing temporary closure of the building, which by this time was a cathedral.

Masterpiece Built between 1889 and 1891, the architect of the King’s Weigh House was Alfred Waterhouse, who is best known for designing the Natural History Museum in Kensington. It is a masterpiece, both for the way its oval nave is built into a rectangular site, and for the originality of its Italianate Romanesque design which incorporates elements of neo-Gothic.

It is about as far from the usual conception of a Nonconformist chapel as one can get.

The Duke Street facade is extremely impressive, featuring a multi-stage square tower with a short spire at the (liturgical) south-west corner. This is balanced at the north-west corner by a lower gabled structure. Between

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is a triple arcaded porch reached by a broad flight of steps. Above the porch is a parapet, and above again is a range of five round-headed lancet windows fitting into the gable end. The whole is made from red brick, richly embellished with buff terracotta tiles. It is fortunate that a side street that adjoins Duke Street allows distant as well as close up views of the west facade.

The west facade gives no clue that the nave of the cathedral is essentially oval in plan. However, this feature can easily be observed from Weighhouse Street or Binney Street, where there are views of the curving upper storeys growing out of a rectangular ground floor. The parapet, which is a prominent feature above the porch of the west frontage, is copied with even greater effect at the south frontage.

Here, it provides a neat transition between the rectangular plan of the ground floor, and the oval structure of the higher parts of the building.

The inside of the cathedral is every bit as impressive as the outside. An unusual feature is the elegant oval or horseshoe shaped gallery, which is one of the few clues to Nonconformist

origins of the cathedral. Also very prominent is a huge central chandelier, which hangs from the domed ceiling and has so many lamps that it can light up the entire interior.

One of the modifications required to convert the former chapel to an Eastern Rite cathedral was the installation of an iconostasis to screen off the sanctuary. This is made from dark wood, and was installed in 1980.

It includes numerous colourful icons on gold backgrounds. The High Altar is concealed behind the screen, although there is a small altar and lectern in front. There is an ambulatory behind the High Altar which houses a stone relief of the Holy Family. This was brought from the now-demolished chapel at Saffron Hill at the edge of the City of London, which was formerly used by Ukrainian Catholics. It dates from around 1855.

Until recently, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family was difficult to visit, as it was kept locked outside service times. However, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, it has been kept open throughout the day, and has attracted many visitors, including the Prime Minister.

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

DIOCESAN DIGEST Mass of Ages quarterly round-up Summer Reports Arundel & Brighton Huw Davies aandb@lms.org.uk 07954 253284 The past quarter has seen some welcome Sung Masses in the Vetus Ordo in the diocese, for the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady at St Hugh of Lincoln in Knaphill, on the first Sunday of Lent at Our Lady of Consolation in West Grinstead and on the Feast of the Annunciation at Our Lady of Ransom in Eastbourne - aside from at West Grinstead, this was the first time in living memory a Missa Cantata had been celebrated at these churches, so a wonderful achievement for those involved, particularly in the current climate.

The Lenten season got underway with Ash Wednesday Masses at Knaphill and at Sacred Heart in Caterham, and during the Sacred Triduum at Knaphill we were also blessed to have a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday and a Solemn Liturgy on Good Friday (in the manner as reformed in 1955). Thank you to Fr Hatton for adding this to his schedule for this year and to the group of boys and men who pulled together to serve these complex yet beautiful ceremonies.

Easter Day saw the usual Sunday Masses at Knaphill and St Pancras, Lewes, plus a Mass at St Barnabas, Molesey, which attracted a congregation of 50 - good going for 8 o’clock in the morning. As last year, you are encouraged to view the beautiful hand-painted Paschal candle here if you are passing - a worthy tribute to our risen Lord.

Looking ahead, the Pilgrimage Mass to West Grinstead will again be happening on the Summer Bank Holiday, Monday 29 August, at 2pm with a Sung Mass, followed by refreshments and then Rosary and Benediction. This year, with the lifting of government restrictions, we will also be able to have tours of the historic house, so please mark this date in your diaries.

Birmingham & Black Country Louis Maciel 07392 232225 birmingham@lms.org.uk birmingham-lms-rep.blogspot.co.uk/ The Oratory celebrated a full Triduum using the Missal of 1962, including Tenebrae at 8pm every day on top of the Mass of Maundy Thursday, the Liturgy of the Passion and the Easter Vigil. The usual two Sunday Masses took place on the day itself, supplemented by the usual Sunday Mass At St Maryon-the-Hill in Wednesbury and an additional Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton. The latter had an additional Mass on the Monday of Holy Week to make up for the one that could not be celebrated on Good Friday. The third Friday Mass at St Dustan’s in Kings Heath could not take place in April for this reason.

Easter concluded a strong Lenten schedule which began with a High Mass at the Oratory and a Low Mass at St Maryon-the-Hill on Ash Wednesday. A well-attended High Mass at 11am for the Feast of St Joseph, which fell on a Saturday this year, was followed by a High Mass of Exposition on Tuesday for the Quarat’ore devotion, moved to Lent this year, before the

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week concluded with High Mass for the Annunciation, one of two in the region in fact, with OLPS in Wolverhampton also celebrating one on the same day!

The addition of Stations of the Cross before Mass during Lent saw larger than usual turnouts at the March and April First Friday Masses at Sacred Heart and All Souls in Acocks Green.

Birmingham (Oxford) Joseph Shaw oxford@lms.org.uk oxfordlmsrep.blogspot.com Masses continue as normal, except for Holy Trinity, Hethe which I have been unable to arrange.

Birmingham (North Staffs) Alan Frost Further to the pamphlet he produced explaining ‘Traditional Mass of the Catholic Church’, for his parishioners at St Augustine’s, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, last autumn, Fr Kazimierz Stefek put together a booklet for the approach of Lent. Under the series titled ‘Return to Tradition’, he explains Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, and how the Church keeps these feasts, as well as reminding people about the need to fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. More Sung Masses are planned for the weekly Wednesday celebration during the coming weeks.

Two boys from a family enormously supportive of the Traditional Latin Mass for a number of years, the Cottons, began training to serve the Low Mass at Our Lady’s, Swynnerton, on the Feast of St Joseph, with the encouragement of the parish priest, Fr Paul Chavasse. Fr Paul has had a busier time than usual with various calls upon his services, including marriages and baptisms and the preparation for these sacred events.

Birmingham (Worcestershire) Alastair J Tocher 01684 893332 malvern@lms.org.uk extraordinarymalvern.uk Facebook: Extraordinary Malvern Masses across Worcestershire – in Kidderminster and Redditch – continue as normal, as do weekly Sunday Masses just across the border in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Sadly, the restrictions imposed by the Archbishop of Cardiff meant however that there were no Traditional Latin Masses in Ledbury for the Sacred Triduum this year.

Absent the opportunity to sing locally at Ledbury, the Schola has found itself recently in the unforeseen position of being able to accept a number of invitations to sing Mass elsewhere.

Most recently this included at Lanherne Carmelite Convent in Cornwall, where a handful of singers were privileged to join the local Schola and the Carmelite Sisters in singing the Masses for Palm Sunday, the Sacred Triduum, and Easter

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Sunday, and culminating with Sung Vespers early on Easter Sunday evening. We are most grateful to all at Lanherne for their warm welcome.

In other news, one of our younger gentlemen who had not previously served Mass took advantage of a recent LMS server training day in London to learn the basics. We welcome him to our growing pool of trained servers in Ledbury.

Last but certainly not least, our thanks as ever to all our priests who faithfully celebrate Mass for us and support us in many other ways. Please remember them in your prayers.

East Anglia (West) Alisa and Gregor Dick 01954 780912 cambridge@lms.org.uk Sunday Masses at Blackfriars in Cambridge continue as normal, and additionally a Mass will be celebrated on Ascension Thursday at 9.15am.

It has been requested that the dates of planned Sung Masses be announced in advance. We plan to establish a means of doing so soon.

Brentwood (Epping) Sister Susan Asher Our faithful priests, Mgr Gordon Read and Rev. Dr Michael Cullinan, have soldiered on, alternating with each other. The Cantata part of the Missa has been possible owing to the attendance of our very experienced organist from Sittingborne in Kent, Andrew Cesana, and our gifted singers, Andrew Bosi from Islington, Ivan Grimer from St Albans (who also provides music on his amazing electronic keyboard when Andrew Cesana cannot be with us), Mike Sutton from Dagenham, Rafael Vanni from Croydon, and locals Juliana Brown and Catheryn Burdett.

The efficient progress of the Mass is due in no small part to our altar servers. Paul Ives and Philip McAdam started us off; then James Murphy took over, helped by his young son, Paul. James’ friend, Lech Handzel-Bonavia, showed an interest from early 2019, when he attended our Mass with his young family. Now he serves, mostly as M.C., and lends a hand training others to serve. He and his family, including new baby Philomena, travel from Saffron Walden. Another important member of the servers’ team, Mark Leverton, travels with his family from Ongar, and for the last several Masses new convert, Liam Barker, has also served at the Lord’s Table.

Paul Ives continues to offer sterling support with refreshments after Mass, and wherever help is needed.

Everyone pulls together, and we are slowly forming a strong, faith-filled team.

On Candlemas, the double feast of the Purification of Our Blessed Mother and the Presentation of the Baby Jesus in the Temple, we were blessed to have a High Mass, when Fr Mark Higgins joined our two stalwarts, Mgr Read and Fr Cullinan. Fr Mark has a long and special association with this parish. Our High Mass started with a welcome by Canon McGrath, followed by the blessing of the candles by processional celebrant Mgr Gordon at 7.30 p.m. The Lord did us proud by providing ideal weather for lit candles: calm, fine and mild. There was a good turnout of Latin Mass devotees, parishioners and friends. As the long procession wound round the Church outside, the choir, led by Andrew Bosi, chanted the age-old favourites under the presiding eye of Mgr Read: ‘Lumen ad Revelationem Gentium’, ‘Exsurge, Domine!’, ‘Adorna Thalamum Tuum, Sion!’, and, once back inside the Church, ‘Obtulerunt’.

The choir, happily joined by ex-Epping organist Theresa Cleary, now living in Ipswich, and Brentwood East rep., Alan Gardner, sang the Mass ‘Cum Jubilo’, in honour of Our Blessed Lady. The motet, Arcadelt’s ‘Ave Maria’, was sung at the Offertory, and at Communion the popular ‘Ecce Panis Angelorum’, the immortal words of St Thomas Aquinas set to music by King John IV of Portugal. Many compliments were received from the congregation on the singing.

A buffet spread was laid out in the hall for all attendees, after Mass, with Bucks Fizz, followed by tea and coffee, for lubrication!

East Anglia (Withermarsh Green) Sarah Ward 07522 289449 withermarshgreen@lms.org.uk This is a catch-up report for Withermarsh Green Latin Mass Chaplaincy.

Autumn, Winter and Spring have seen a steady increase in the number of people attending the Chaplaincy. Daily Masses in the old rite continue, with two Masses on Sundays.

In September, Bishop Alan Hopes attended to confirm 6 of our young people. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone enjoyed a celebration in the grounds afterwards.

In November, the Chaplaincy celebrated its first baptism for 3-day old Joseph. This was followed 4 months later by its second baptism for 2-day old Josephine.

On 20 November, the Chaplaincy celebrated one of its patronal feasts, that of St Edmund. The day started with the blessing of a new icon of St Edmund by Julia Ashendon, then a beautiful High Mass. After Mass, festivities continued with shared food, a celebration cake, medieval music and the performance of “The Guardian”, a play written by Fr Whisenant about the veneration of St Edmund. Well done to the freshly formed “St Edmund’s Players”, who terrified the audience with a realistic enactment of the gruesome final moments of St Edmund’s earthly life.

Monthly Sung Masses on the last Sunday of the month have continued, with cantor Daniel Wright and the enthusiastic Withermarsh Green Schola. The “Friends of Withermarsh Green Latin Mass Chaplaincy” charity continues to offer teas and coffees after 11am Sunday Mass and there is usually a sale of baked goods after the monthly Sung Mass.

In May, the Chaplaincy is pleased to be welcoming Mrs Lucy Shaw to lead some of the women in a day of embroidery and, it is hoped, for the inauguration of a new branch of the Guild of St Clare at Withermarsh Green.

A reminder to visitors that in wet weather, the parking area can become very muddy indeed and you may wish to park a little way up the lane and walk down.

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Hallam Nicholas Ross I am very pleased to report progress in Hallam, thanks to the initiative of Fr Chris Ainslie.

Fr Chris began saying Low Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Doncaster, late last year. We are also grateful to Bishop Ralph Heskett for his concern and support.

Low Mass is now celebrated regularly, on the last Sunday of the month at the new location of St Thomas of Canterbury, Kirk Sandall, Doncaster.

We are also grateful to Fr Elliott for the provision of the Mass in his church and for his invaluable and careful assistance.

May this prove to be a stable provision and I hope to see more people join us in the coming months. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us!

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Hexham and Newcastle Keith McAllister 01325 308968 07966 235329 k_mcallister@ymail.com The year has proceeded with all previous ancient rite liturgies delivered at Gateshead, Thornley, Coxhoe, Cheeseburn and Whittingham; however, we note with some sadness the suspension of Cheeseburn Masses until further notice following the retirement of the local Sacristan / server.

The initial encouraging number of attendees was depleted following the winter storm episodes, not entirely surprising given the remote location! Our gratitude has been again sent to the Riddell Family Estate owners.

There is a planned High Mass at Wooler in June, at which the Westland Singers may feature.

Lancaster Bob & Jane Latin 01772 962387 lancaster@lms.org.uk latinmasslancaster.blogspot.com John Rogan 01524 858832 lancasterassistant@lms.org.uk Despite the darkness of winter and the solemn days of Lent there has been much to lift the spirits in Preston. The Institute's Patronal Feast Days of St Francis de Sales, St Thomas Aquinas and St Benedict were celebrated with great solemnity, joy and beauty, and were well supported. In February there was High Mass for the church's Patronal Feast of St Walburge, with veneration of the relic afterwards.

In March there was a Novena in honour of St Joseph, culminating in a Sung Mass at English Martyrs on 19 March, followed by consecration of the Institute to St Joseph. Then the following week, for the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, there was Sung Mass at English Martyrs at noon and in the evening Sung Vespers and Benediction followed by the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart.

We had the great joy of welcoming back Canon Pedro Duarte after his ordination by Cardinal Raymond Burke on the Feast of St Benedict. Canon Duarte offered his First Solemn High Mass on Passion Sunday, in the presence of Canon Montjean, and gave First Blessings afterwards. On the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday he gave a most interesting presentation to the Society of the Sacred Heart to help us in preparing for Easter.

After assisting with Holy Week at New Brighton and some time in Portugal, he will return to spend the month of May with us.

On Saturday 19 March St Benedict's Academy held an Open Morning. It was an opportunity for interested families to have a tour, talk to the Canons and Sisters and meet other families.

Canon Cristofoli gave a presentation on how the Academy came into being. When he arrived at St Walburge's in 2016 he had no intention of opening an educational centre, indeed his superior had expressly forbidden him to even think of such a project. But by February 2017 he had the growing conviction that he had to do something for the families who attended the shrine. After much prayer, Providence decreed that he should receive approval from both his superior, Mgr Wach, and the diocesan bishop, Bishop Campbell. The St Walburge buildings were not available at the time so the Academy was started in the parish rooms of English Martyrs in January 2018. At first there were only two families but it has steadily grown and there are at present 24 children from nine families. Of these children, seven boys serve on the altar at weekday Masses, as well as at St Walburge's at weekends.

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Canon Post, the Principal, then talked about the ethos, aims and curriculum of the Academy and the plans for the future.

God willing, from the start of the academic year 2022-2023, St Benedict's will be in new premises on the St Walburge's site.

The aim is to restore the buildings that were the former Talbot Schools adjacent to the church and presbytery. A survey has shown that the necessary restoration work is not as extensive as feared but it will still require £97,000. Some generous benefactors have already donated £40,000 but they still need to find £57,000. The money will be allocated as follows: £25,000 to repair the roof; £35,000 to create a suitable playground for the children; £20,000 to restore the sanitary facilities; £7,000 to fence off the playground and car park; £10,000 for redecoration and electrical work. Once this work has been done the Academy will have a more suitable building with more space, allowing more enrolments.

If you can, please help the Canons to raise this money so that we can give our children the authentic Catholic education that is so badly needed in our times. Go to their website icksp.org.uk/saintbenedicts/about/ to find out more about the Academy and to donate. If you would like to be sent their newsletters as they are published, or if you are an interested parent and would like to arrange a visit, then please email the Principal, Canon Ryan Post, at saintbenedicts@icksp.org.uk .

We are also pleased to report that the builders are now making progress in installing the slates on the roof at St Walburge's.

Our five candidates from the House of Discernment recently spent two weeks at the Seminary at Gricigliano to explore their vocations and experience the life of the Seminary. They were also able to meet with Cardinal Burke.

Palm Sunday saw a full church, despite the cold, and many remarked how well-behaved the children were during the three-hour-long Mass and Procession with palms. The Sacred Triduum was celebrated in full and well-supported, Good Friday particularly so, despite the challenge of parking near English Martyrs with a football match at Preston North End! The veneration of the Cross was particularly moving.

We ourselves were unable to go to the Easter Vigil but our Assistant Rep, Nicholas Steven, was able to attend and says it was “a beautiful ceremony which included everything from the lighting of the New Fire, processing into the Church to the ascending chant of 'Lumen Christi'', the Blessing of the Font and the Baptism of the Paschal Candle, followed by one adult baptism, three confirmations and four First Holy Communions. Three hours were gone in a flash!” After Mass on Easter Sunday we were once more visited by a Pascal lamb and the children (young and old) hunted for Easter Eggs in the presbytery garden.

After a break in April, the Guild meetings will resume in May on the second and fourth Sundays after 10.30 am Mass.

Bring a packed lunch and join us for a talk, with catechism for the youngsters, concluding with social and activities for the children. If you can stay longer, there's also the opportunity to attend Vespers and Benediction at 5.30 pm.

A reminder that after 10.30 am Mass on Sunday 15 May, there will be a Solemn Procession in honour of Our Lady. In June we will have the great Feast of Corpus Christi which will be celebrated with Solemn Mass at 12 noon at English Martyrs followed by a Procession, and then on Sunday 19 June, the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi, there will be a Blessed Sacrament Procession with the Preston Deanery at 2.00 pm. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Friday 24 June, there will again be High Mass at English Martyrs at 12 noon and then at 5.30 pm Solemn Vespers followed by Exposition, Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart and Benediction. For future Feast Days and events please see the Institute's website icksp.org.uk/preston/

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Sacred Triduum, Preston, clockwise from top left: Altar of Repose; Good Friday; Blessing of New Fire at Easter Vigil; Easter Sunday

Lancaster (North) Nicholas Steven 07715 539395 pilgrimways@gmail.com Our regular Saturday Low Masses continue with Sung Masses once a month - “Salve Sancta Parens” for Our Lady on 27 February and “Justus ut Palma” for St Joseph on 19 March. As well as rehearsing for these Sung Masses, our six man Schola Gregoriana Sancta Caecilia, now much fortified

by Richard Fern’s bass voice, found time to sing Vespers at St Catherine’s in Penrith on St Patrick’s Day and also entered a bracing corporate response for the Synod on Synodality. We even interrupted one practice, at 5.30 pm on 25 March, to join the Holy Father in his prayers for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Three boys, William Whalen, Albert Smielecki and Lenny Pattinson, are now on our Saturday Mass servers’ roster and are getting to grips with the Latin responses. Sunday TLM being as yet unavailable in Cumbria, copious carbon continues to be emitted as some drive back and forth to Preston or Glasgow or Edinburgh or Newcastle. A number of us attended Masses of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Preston on the Feasts of the Annunciation, Maundy Thursday and Easter Vigil.

Requiem Mass for Mrs Helen Farrer was offered at Our Lady and St Joseph, Workington, on Wednesday 6 April. Fr Michael Docherty celebrated Mass and then officiated at the subsequent interment at Cleator Moor. His Lordship Paul Swarbrick, Bishop of Lancaster, granted permission for the Mass to be celebrated in the Old Rite, which was particularly

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY fitting as Helen and her husband Samuel had celebrated their Old Rite wedding in the same church about 70 years earlier.

A lovely photograph of the bridal couple kneeling before the altar accompanied the coffin. Farrer family members were present in abundance and two Farrer granddaughters made a last minute appeal for the Mass to be celebrated at the Lady Altar, which was done.

Our “TLM in Cumbria” WhatsApp Group continues to be a valuable channel of communication. Resources signposted this month include the enlightening 20 part series on the prayers and rubrics of the TLM by the Canons of St Walburge, Preston and Daphne McLeod’s brilliant, 16 session Catechism class. Here also we first heard the good news that Pope Francis has authorised the FSSP to continue using the 1962 Missal and corresponding Rituale. Here, William Steven encouraged us to sign up for a local Novena Group while Karolina, Marcin and Julia Grobelny used it to send a spiritual bouquet to our Parish Priests, Canon Luiz Ruscillo, Fr Daniel Etienne and Fr Paul Harrison on the occasion of the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Just text me if you’d like to be added to the “TLM in Cumbria” WhatsApp Group.

Liverpool (Warrington) Alan Frost Pope Francis confirmed the liturgical identity of the FSSP by decree last February. This excellent news was a relief for the Warrington community after the uncertainty that followed the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes last July. It also came as a sign of God and Our Lady’s solicitude after a special novena prayed by the FSSP worldwide in preparation to its solemn consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 11 February, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The mission work of the Priory of St Mary’s Shrine continues to expand, notably of late in the sphere of education. An Open Day to promote the Regina Caeli Academy with the theme of ‘Support our children’s Catholic education’, was held on 5 March. A similar development is taking place with the FSSP in Bedford. This option is seen as a key asset for families to survive and pass on the faith to their children. Visit rcahybrid. org.uk/ for inquiries (register children by 1 May for September 2022.) Such is the growing appreciation of the liturgical and devotional opportunities at Warrington that half a dozen families have moved there in the past year. More families are willing to follow, prompting a house finding novena to be prayed for their resettling.

In Lent, in connection with Good Friday, CTS published a short study on the Stabat Mater by the Rector, Fr de Malleray.

In addition, the Sophia Institute Press has released a new edition of Fr de Malleray’s book on the Holy Eucharist Ego Eimi-It is I, with a Foreword by Bishop Athanasius Schneider (order from SophiaInstitute.com/EgoEimi or the LMS online bookshop). On a different note during this time, the Mass for the Feast of St Patrick, presented on-line on LiveMass.org, as is Mass at St Mary’s each day, was followed by a reception buffet and an Irish sing-song in the Priory Hall. On 25 March, there was another well-attended Mass celebrating the Annunciation which included an impressive trio of organ, cello and voice.

A very important upcoming event is the visit of Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP on Saturday 2 July (3 pm) to give the Sacrament of Confirmation to children and adults. Fr de Malleray offers the thanks of all at St Mary’s to the Archbishop, who comes each summer to confirm parishioners.

Congratulations to Fr Gerard Quirke who recently started as a Postulant to join the FSSP. Clergy and congregation welcome him as part of the St Mary’s Shrine, where he has

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been assigned for the foreseeable future. Following formation at Maynooth Seminary in Ireland, Fr Quirke was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Tuam in 2018. After some time of discernment, he sought permission from his Archbishop to try his vocation with the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter.

FSSP Superior General, Fr Andrzej Komorowski, assigned him to Warrington, and local Ordinary Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP of Liverpool granted him pastoral faculties. (The bishops of Northampton and Portsmouth have also agreed to confirm FSSP parishioners.)

Finally, prayers are asked for Deacon Gwilym Evans, FSSP, from Wales, who will complete his diaconal stage in Warrington by Easter and will go back to the FSSP seminary in Bavaria to prepare for priestly ordination there on 18 June 2022. The dates for his First Masses next July in London and elsewhere will be advertised on the LMS website and on fssp. org.uk. Then Fr Evans is expected to be assigned in England from August onward.

Middlesbrough Paul Waddington waddadux@gmail.com Latin Masses continue to be offered every day at the York Oratory, on Sunday afternoons at St Joseph’s Stokesley, and on Thursday evenings at Our Lady and St Peter Chanel on Hull.

The lunchtime Mass on Thursdays at St Joan of Arc, Catterick has been discontinued due to Fr David Smith moving on to pastures new.

We are grateful to all the priests who offer these Masses, and say a particular thank you to Fr Smith for all his efforts during his time at Catterick.

Northampton North (Northamptonshire) Paul Beardsmore 01858 434037 northampton@lms.org.uk Sunday and weekday Masses have continued according to schedule at St Brendan, Corby, with some additional Masses being celebrated on feast days and Fridays in Lent. It has not proved possible to have any Sung Masses this quarter, but for the second year we were able to have the services of the Sacred Triduum according to the 1955 rite. Enormous thanks are due to Fr Byrne, who has to run two parishes whilst providing these ceremonies for us, to Stephen Parker, our vigilant and unflappable MC, all the servers, and to Sr Cecilia, who provides an ever helpful presence in the sacristy.

Northampton (South) Barbara Kay 01234 340759 mbky3@outlook.com Our Mass schedule thankfully continues as usual in this part of the world, with our Bedford Sunday Masses at 8.30 am and 12.30 pm and our Chesham Bois Mass at 8 am. The First Sunday 8.30 am Mass at Bedford is usually sung, and we have had the pleasure of welcoming Dominic Bevan, a professional singer, to lead our choir practices in February, March and May. Dominic has been most helpful and encouraging, and we are singing more confidently as a result. We were offered this training through the sponsorship of the Latin Mass Society, for which we are most grateful.

On Ash Wednesday the Bedford evening Mass was well attended, as were our Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday Masses.

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© Alastair J Tocher

REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Easter Sunday at Lanherne Convent, Cornwall

On the weekend of Palm Sunday we were privileged to have two priests from the FSSP apostolate at Warrington with us for Saturday afternoon Confessions and the Sunday Masses; Fr Alex Stewart was joined for the first time at Bedford by Fr Gerard Quirke.

In March I witnessed the churching of one of our mothers at the baptism of her daughter; it was lovely to see this ceremony which I was aware existed, but had never actually seen before.

We are looking forward to Low Masses for the Ascension, Corpus Christi and SS Peter and Paul over the coming months; these will be at 11 am at Chesham Bois and 7.30 pm at Bedford.

As always, please see our Facebook page: facebook.com/ bedfordlatinmass/ or the FSSP page fssp.org.uk/bedford/ for updates and other articles of interest.

Nottingham Jeremy Boot 0115 491556 / 07462 018386 Masses are back on a regular footing. On the Saturday before the 2nd Sunday of the month at Good Shepherd Thackeray’s Lane, Nottingham (sung), 4.30pm; on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 3pm at Our Lady and St Patrick, in the Meadows, Nottingham, and weekly at St Joseph’s, Burton Road, Derby at 8am. Plans are still forming for the restoration of the monthly Cathedral Masses but this is a slow process.

At Our Lady of the Annunciation, 97 Ashby Rd, Loughborough, Mass is celebrated weekly (with the odd exception) at 6.30 each Wednesday, Low Mass usually but we

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did celebrate Sung Mass for Ash Wednesday as well as for The Purification on 2 February. Masses for both SS Peter and Paul are planned (12 noon) and for Corpus Christi, anticipated on the vigil 15th June. For more see the Mass schedule.

A Requiem Mass took place in Worksop, north Notts, but now in the Hallam diocese, for a deceased member in early March. This was celebrated by Canon Cahill of Leicester and sung by Nottingham diocesan singers – to whom many thanks.

Our sincere thanks to our priests, and all who help, musicians and servers and in any way, to maintain these Masses.

Nottingham South (Leicestershire and Rutland) Paul Beardsmore 01858 434037 northampton@lms.org.uk Masses in Leicester continue at Blessed Sacrament, Braunstone, on Sunday mornings at 8.00 am, and at St Peter, Hinckley Road, on Saturdays at 11.00 am. Canon Cahill kindly agreed to a Sung Mass for the feast of the Annunciation at St Peter's, but in the event was struck down by Covid; thanks are due to Fr Thomas Crean, OP, who celebrated the Mass for us with only a few hours' notice.

Happily, the Friday evening Mass at St Joseph, Oakham, has now resumed, celebrated by Fr Stephen Dye. Masses at St Mary, Loughborough, are covered in the report from Jeremy Boot.

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Plymouth (Dorset) Maurice Quinn 07555 536570 devon@lms.org.uk Mgr Francis Jamieson continues with his once-a-month weekday Traditional Mass at the beautiful church of Our Lady of Lourdes & St Cecilia, Blandford Forum. I am happy to say that these are always followed by a free social lunch to which everybody is invited. Mgr Francis also offers a regular 9.30am Mass on Saturday mornings. Do check the Mass Listings but contact me if you have any other questions. I might just add that this year’s Pilgrimage Mass in honour of the Chideock Martyrs is scheduled to take place at 11.30am on Saturday 17 September at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs & St Ignatius in the village of Chideock. More information regarding this event will be forthcoming nearer the time.

Plymouth (Devon) Maurice Quinn 07555 536579 devon@lms.org.uk Once again, good news is at the heart of the Devon Latin Mass scene, especially now that the fulcrum upon which it turns has moved to Holy Angels in Torquay – with daily Mass, Adoration/Benediction and regular opportunities for Confession being the new norm, thanks to Canon Tanner ICKSP, Prior of the Shrine Church of Holy Angels, Chelston.

The whole range of Traditional Masses – including on special Holy Days – now takes place at the shrine. Holy Week proved to be a magnificent example of this with Solemn High Mass on Maundy Thursday, Mass of the Pre-Sanctified on Good Friday, followed at the Easter Vigil with a Sung Mass, and another Solemn High Mass on Easter Sunday. We were pleased to welcome the Institute’s seminarian, Abbe Aaron Zielinski, who will be assisting Canon Tanner at Holy Angels for the next few months.

I have been asked about the possibility of resuming Mass celebrations at Blessed Sacrament, Exeter, and at Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh, and I can say that everything is being done to resume these Masses.

At St Edward the Confessor in Plymouth Masses have been celebrated recently by Fr Martin Budge and by Canon Tanner, and, for the record, these take place at 3pm Sunday afternoons alongside a morning Mass on 1st Saturdays. For more information regarding Mass times please check the Mass listings, and do contact me if you have any concerns either by email or by phone as above.

Portsmouth (Reading and Portsmouth North) Adrian Dulston The usual generous Masses for Lent, Holy Week, and Sacred Triduum provided by the FSSP. A special mention to pray for newly baptised Amit Mandalia on the Easter Vigil for whom I suggest we offer at least one Hail Mary. No need to go over the effort the FSSP priests put in over this period but to continue to thank God for such providence. Perhaps some more faithful may consider joining the Confraternity of St Peter to open up more providential graces. The commitment involves having one Mass offered a year for their intentions, saying the short Confraternity prayer before adding one decade of the Rosary - please get in touch with Fr Phipps at St John Fisher House if you are interested.

I would like to take this opportunity to mention FSSP Summer Camps which will take place at Savio House, in

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Bollington (nr Macclesfield). St Peter's Summer Camp for Boys runs 1-6 August; St Petronilla Summer Camp for Girls runs 8-13 August 2022.

I do not think I have mentioned before the Pro-Life intentions that are given every Sunday Mass but they change each month and for April it is 'for the softening of the hearts of abortion providers.' A reminder that on each First Saturday after 8am Mass there is usually a Rosary walk near the Abortion Clinic in Reading although do check the Newsletter - available at fssp.org.uk/reading/ Portsmouth (Isle of Wight) Peter Clarke 01983 566740 or 07790892592 EF Masses continue on the Isle of Wight, mainly at St Thomas’s, Cowes. These are offered on most Thursdays at 12 noon by Fr Jonathan Redvers Harris. There is usually Exposition and Confessions beforehand from 11-15am; and lunch (our own) in the church hall afterwards.

We are hoping to have a small Corpus Christi Procession on Thursday, 16 June.

St Thomas’s, Cowes celebrates its 225th anniversary on Trinity Sunday. It was built in 1797 by a generous benefactor, Elizabeth Heneage, making it one of the oldest Catholic churches in England and (probably) one of the oldest parish churches in England, where the EF Mass is offered.

Please telephone for confirmation of these Masses if you are coming from the mainland.

Salford Alison F. Kudlowski salford@lms.org.uk The Extraordinary Form Low Mass continues on Sundays at 4.45pm at St Chad’s, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester.

Please check the website of the Oratorian Community at manchesteroratory.org for a bulletin of weekly events.

Supporters can also contact me at the above LMS email address.

St Mary’s in Heaton Norris, Stockport, continues to celebrate an Extraordinary Form Low Mass, most Fridays at 6pm. It is advised to contact Fr Marlor before making travel arrangements. Please refer to Mass Listings for details.

Shrewsbury (Cathedral & St Winefride's) Victoria Keens shrewsbury@lms.org.uk Bill Quirk, who until recently served as LMS representative for Shrewsbury, died peacefully on the morning of 14 March. His Requiem Mass on the 5 April was attended by a large number of friends and family, along with Bill’s fellow parishioners at St Winefride’s.

Bill regularly attended Mass here, almost up to his 100th birthday on 11 November 2021. In the last few months of his life he was in a nursing home and no longer able to get to St Winefride’s, but our priest, Canon Michael Wiener, regularly attended to his spiritual needs.

At the time of Bill’s birth few Catholics could have anticipated the liturgical changes that would take place within the next half century. When the new Mass was introduced under Paul VI, though he did not abrogate the old Mass, it was, in effect, banned almost everywhere and even he lamented the loss:

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY “The introduction of the vernacular will certainly be a great sacrifice for those who know the beauty, the power and the expressive sacrality of Latin. We are parting with the speech of the Christian centuries; we are becoming like profane intruders in the literary preserve of sacred utterance. We will lose a great part of that stupendous and incomparable artistic and spiritual thing, the Gregorian chant.

We have reason indeed for regret, reason almost for bewilderment. What can we put in the place of that language of the angels? We are giving up something of priceless worth.”

- Paul VI, General Audience, 26 November 1969.

Many Catholics, deeply distressed, sought out the few Traditional Masses that were still allowed or could be arranged in private and makeshift chapels. Bill’s daughter, Margaret, recalls how her father helped to organise and serve at such Masses around the country. During the bleak years of the 1970’s and 80’s Bill worked to get priests to come to say Mass in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Newport in Shropshire, as well as in neighbouring Hereford and at Harvington Hall.

In Shrewsbury itself, with only a few exceptions, there were no traditional Masses until the mid-1990’s.

Eventually, thanks to Bill’s tireless efforts and those also of Shrewsbury diocesan priest, Father Gerard McGuiness, Bishop Brian Noble, then Bishop of Shrewsbury, agreed to allow a Traditional Mass once a month at St Winefride’s Church. By Bill Quirk celebrating his 100th birthday the time of Summorum Pontificum in 2007, Shrewsbury was one of the still few places that had Traditional Masses every Sunday. Canon Hudson, from the ICKSP, became the first regular priest and Fr McGuiness took over in 2010. In 2017 Bishop Mark Davies allowed the Institute of Christ the King to set up an apostolate in Shrewsbury. Finally, after so many years of commitment, Bill was able to see Mass offered on a daily basis in Shrewsbury.

Today our congregation is growing, with new faithful joining us all the time, many coming from outside our area and we have beautiful liturgy and the Mass of ages. At Shrewsbury and in the LMS our debt to Bill Quirk is very great indeed. May he rest in peace.

Southwark (Kent) Marygold Turner With various vicissitudes of the Covid virus, we are blessed to continue our Masses uninterrupted at St Andrew’s, Tenterden.

Ben Bevan’s marvellous choir has attended regularly and their excellent singing is greatly appreciated. We have had visiting priests – old friends – who have looked after us.

Please say a prayer for Andrew Czaykowski who has done so much for us and is ill.

We shall have Masses in St Andrew’s on Ascension Day, Corpus Christi, SS Peter & Paul and the Assumption at 12 noon.

Fr Behruz has encouraged we traditionalists to gather once a month for a social get together after Mass on the first Sunday

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of the month. It’s a very kind idea and well attended, with people bringing in nice food and drink.

Southwark (St Bede’s, Clapham Park) Thomas Windsor claphampark@lms.org.uk Here at St Bede’s we have now got back to normal after the upheavals of Covid. Our extra Mass on Sunday at 12.30pm continues, and all our usual activities including our All Saints party have been taking place. Our children’s choir continues singing the Ordinary, one of the Propers and a hymn once a month. The main choir has gained lots of new members and has continued building their repertoire. The serving team continues to grow with around 20 boys now serving regularly.

The winter quarter started with our Christmas midnight Mass (Byrd 3 Part and Alma Redemptoris, Palestrina), Christmas day (Introit Puer Natus, Issac, Missa super Dixit Maria, Hassler, Alma Redemptoris Guerrero) and St Stephen’s Day (Palestrina Missa O Quam Gloriosum with motet, Deus Tuorum Militum, Victoria, Alma Redemptoris Guerrero). We also had a Solemn High Mass for the Feast of St Thomas on the 29 December. We were fortunate to have such a feast of Polyphony, each Mass included the polyphonic setting of the Credo.

I would like to thank Fr Southwell for spending Christmas with us and blessing large amounts of Epiphany water, Chalk and Salt at our usual Sung Mass. The choir continue to sing Polyphonic Propers, with the complete cycle of Issac’s settings, Introit, Alleluia / Tract and Communion with the Palestrina Offertory on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany, Quinquagesima and the third Sunday of Lent. We also had our usual Sung Mass and procession for Candlemas.

We had another Solemn High Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation (Missa super Dixit Maria, Hassler, Ave Regina Caelorum, de la Rue), and also Sung Masses for the Feast of St Patrick and St Joseph.

Holy Week was incredibly busy, and I would especially like to thank Fr Pullicino for all his hard work. On Palm Sunday we had a 15-year-old MC in charge of the sanctuary, the choir sang the Victoria: St Matthew Passion, the Communion setting

by Issac, and the Ave Regina Caelorum, de la Rue as well as all the usual chants. For the first time this year we had Tenebrae on both Wednesday and Friday evening, rather than just on the Wednesday. On Maundy Thursday we had 16 servers, with the choir singing the Byrd 3-part Mass, Christus factus est, Anerio, Dextera Domine, Palestrina, Ave Verum, Byrd 4v, and a setting of the Pange Lingua.

On Good Friday we once again had 16 servers, with the choir singing the Victoria setting of the Passion, and O caput Cruentatum, (Hassler setting arranged by Bach). The Easter Vigil (Sicut cervus / Sitivit & Missa Brevis, Palestina, & Regina Caeli, Witt) once again with a 15-year-old MC in charge of the 15 servers, as well as a record number of lectors to sing the prophecies.

Our Mass attendance has continued to climb with over a third of our congregation being made up of young families.

Southwark (St George's Cathedral) Oliver McCarthy southwark@lms.org.uk After more than two years it came as a great relief that the public return of the Latin Mass to St George's Cathedral, Southwark was greeted so warmly both by the Cathedral clergy and staff and by over fifty of the lay faithful who came

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© Selina Fang

REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Mass at St George’s

to worship in the Cathedral's beautiful Lady Chapel. Mass was sung once again to a very high standard, with the assistance of one of the excellent Lay Clerks from the Cathedral Choir. As before, the ceremonies were performed very competently by a team of boys from St Bede's, Clapham Park.

We are very grateful to Archbishop John Wilson for his permission to continue to have the Latin Mass at St George's, and for his kind help and support to Fr Francis Murphy, who is currently serving as Acting Dean of the Cathedral, following the very sad, sudden death of Canon Richard Hearn last year.

Wrexham Kevin Jones wrexham@lms.org.uk The situation in North Wales is unchanged. In the Diocese of Wrexham no Masses using the 1962 Missal are taking place.

It has been well documented as to how we have arrived at this sorry position and so I will not repeat it again.

I have made a submission to the Diocesan Coordinator, Fr Dalgleish in respect of the forthcoming Synod and have attempted to convey how Traditionalism can enrich the life of the Church and should be seen as a gift.

My term as LMS Secretary ends at the next Annual General Meeting. I have served on the Committee since 2014. It has been

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fulfilling to have been able to give some additional contribution to the Latin Mass Society and whilst the Constitution allows for me to seek approval to remain involved, I decided some time ago not to do so. I wish my successor well.

Society of St Tarcisius Joseph Shaw, National Coordinator tarcisius@lms.org.uk Server training has returned to London in 2022, and in addition to St Mary Moorfields we have also now used St Dominic's, Haverstock Hill - the Rosary Shrine, which belongs to the Dominicans. This was very successful and I hope to return there soon. I will soon be arranging more dates for the last quarter of the year, and I hope that training for the Dominican Rite will be included for the first time.

Those interested in server training should make sure they are on our mailing list: please contact tarcisius@lms.org.uk.

Our events are always attended by people from outside London, and it would be good to have training events and enrolments in different parts of the country: anyone prepared to organise these should email me. Priests who would like to enrol their regular servers are welcome to do so: we can send you the enamelled diecast medals and the cords of the appropriate colours, as well as printed information about the Society, prayer cards, and the enrolment ceremony.

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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Scenes from Tarcisius Server Training and Guild of St Clare Days held earlier this year in London (See St Tarcisius report on previous page)

During a pause in the server training, the Chairman and Oliver McCarthy lend a hand unpicking seams with the Guild of St Clare

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NEWS

World News Paul Waddington reports from around the Globe

I

n recent months, there have not been many reports of bishops applying further restrictions on provision of the Latin Mass in their dioceses. Indeed, there have been a few cases where bishops have relaxed earlier restrictions. Commentators have generally suggested that, despite cancellations that have severely affected some places, on balance worldwide Latin Mass provision has remained at roughly the same level as prior to Traditionis Custodes.

A small number of bishops have taken a hard line, sometimes cancelling existing Masses, but this has been offset by other bishops who have allowed new Masses to be introduced. For the vast majority of bishops, it is business as usual, allowing existing Masses to continue, while being reticent about introducing new locations.

The impression is that interest in the Latin Mass continues to grow, especially amongst young people, in all parts of the world where it has a foothold. The result being that, whilst the number of locations where the Latin Mass is offered has remained roughly the same, the size of individual congregations has tended to grow.

Although there are many places where supporters of the Latin Mass have been deprived of their local opportunity to attend the Mass of their choice, it seems that at least some of them are now travelling across diocesan boundaries for their Sunday Mass.

All the traditional orders of priests have healthy numbers of seminarians, and high levels of enquiries from prospective candidates, which bodes well for the future. This contrasts with the dwindling numbers of young men joining diocesan seminaries in most countries outside Africa and Asia.

The inevitable consequence of these trends is that in the long run, certainly in Europe and North America, the proportion of priests favouring or sympathetic to the Latin Mass is going to increase in the coming decades.

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This is a trend that cannot be ignored, and will surely result in the Latin Mass being more widely available.

The Application of Traditionis Custodes to Ecclesia Dei Communities One very significant news item has emerged recently. On Friday, 4 February, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, Fr Benoît Paul-Joseph, superior of the District of France, and Fr Vincent Ribeton, rector of St Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father.

In the course of the audience, the Pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St Peter are not affected by the general provisions of Traditionis Custodes, because the use of the ancient liturgical books was at the origin of their existence and is provided for in their constitutions.

At the request of the two FSSP priests, the Holy Father subsequently issued a decree which he signed on 11 February, (incidentally the day the Fraternity was solemnly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) confirming that members of the Fraternity have the right to use the liturgical books in force in 1962, namely: the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary.

Here is the text of the decree.

‘The Holy Father Francis, grants to each and every member of the Society of Apostolic Life “Fraternity of Saint Peter”, founded on July 18, 1988 and declared of “Pontifical Right” by the Holy See, the faculty to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass, and to carry out the sacraments and other sacred rites, as well as to fulfil the Divine Office,

according to the typical editions of the liturgical books, namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary, in force in the year 1962.

‘They may use this faculty in their own churches or oratories; otherwise it may only be used with the consent of the Ordinary of the place, except for the celebration of private Masses.

‘Without prejudice to what has been said above, the Holy Father suggests that, as far as possible, the provisions of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes be taken into account as well.

‘Given in Rome, near St Peter’s, on 11th February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, in the year 2022, the ninth year of my Pontificate.’

Although the decree only refers to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, canonists from around the world have opined that it can reasonably be taken to apply to all the societies and institutes that formerly came under the Ecclesia Dei Commission. Indeed, the two priests have said that the Pope made this clear at the audience.

Rosary Gatherings in Chicago

Traditionis Custodes has been applied in a particularly harsh way in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where Archbishop Cupich has banned all celebrations of the Traditional Mass on all first Sundays of the month.

In response, supporters of the Latin Mass have been gathering outside the cathedral at 11am on first Sundays to recite the Rosary and sing hymns.

Many carried banners with the words: “Cardinal Cupich, why are you persecuting faithful Catholics?”

Protesters at Chicago Rosary Gathering

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NEWS At the March gathering, cathedral officials asked several participants to remove themselves from the cathedral steps, where they were sheltering from the bitter coldness, but otherwise, the gatherings have produced no reaction from the authorities. The protesters had brought with them a life size statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and hymn tunes were played on bagpipes by a couple of young men.

Meeting with Nuncio in Paris Since the publication of Traditionis Custodes last July, traditional Catholics have been gathering outside the Apostolic Nunciature in Paris on Saturday mornings to demonstrate their support for the Traditional Latin Mass. In early April, two representatives were received by Mgr Better, the Apostolic Nuncio in a 45-minute meeting that was described as fraternal.

According to a statement issued by the representatives after the meeting, the nuncio asserted that any concessions granted to continue Latin Masses had only been granted as a “temporary tolerance to the faithful tied to this liturgy in order to gradually lead them to the Reformed liturgy”, and “that the only lex orandi would be none other than that of the new liturgy”.

On the other hand, the representatives emphasised the strong attachment of many Catholics to the older liturgy and their determination to defend the Latin Mass and traditional sacraments within parishes and dioceses. They would “not allow themselves to be reduced to a marginal ghetto, to whom only some sacramental rights would be granted”.

La Voie Romaine At the beginning of March, 45 women set off on a 1000 km walk from Paris to Rome. They were all the mothers of priests, and the purpose of their long pilgrimage, dubbed La Voie Romaine, was to draw attention to the restrictions placed on their sons, and the wider Church, by Pope Francis’ motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes. The mothers had with them 200 letters of support, a number that has steadily increased as the pilgrimage has progressed.

The mothers, who have been visiting monasteries and cathedrals on the way, were recently at the Benedictine Abbey of Sainte Madeleine at Le Barroux, and at the time of writing were in the southwest of France approaching the Italian border. They are expecting to arrive in Rome by the end of April, and intend to seek an audience with the Pope, where they will beg him to review the restrictions on the Latin Mass.

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Church of St Anne, Belmont

Church of St Anne, Belmont, Australia Until the outbreak of Covid, a familiar figure on the Latin Mass Society’s walking pilgrimages to Walsingham was Fr Michael Rowe. He is a priest of the Australian Archdiocese of Perth and takes part in many walking pilgrimages around the world. Since 2008, Fr Rowe has been the pastor of the quasi parish of St Anne in Belmont, where he has served a Latin Mass Community. In 2018, the Archdiocese decided to merge the parish of St Anne in Belmont with two other parishes, although Fr Rowe remained there and has continued to offer the Latin Mass for the vibrant Latin Mass community. Subsequently, it has emerged that the Archdiocese intends to close St Anne’s Church and either sell the property or use it for another purpose, leaving the Latin Mass Community without a home.

Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community that he serves have protested at their treatment and have taken the matter through the juridical processes of the Church, but without success. Now Fr Rowe intends to seek redress through

the civil courts and is appealing for funds to pay for the legal costs.

Sister Adorers Welcome Five Postulants In January, the Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus, the female branch of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest had the joy of welcoming five new postulants to their Noviciate in Naples.

The new recruits, who hail from the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, and Germany, received the blue cape from the hands of the Prior General, Monsignor Gilles Wach on the feast of the Holy Innocents.

Founded about twenty years ago, to work alongside the priests of the Institute, the sisters have grown in number very rapidly, and now number more than sixty.

They are described as non-cloistered contemplatives, and their work includes teaching, vestment making and acting as sacristans. Above all, they are noted for their singing at the churches served by the priests of the Institute. They have two convents in Italy and one in each of Switzerland, Germany, England, Ireland and the United States.

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FAMILY MATTERS

The heart of the matter Our love of God should not remain purely theoretical, says James Preece

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id you know that Albert Einstein was an actual scientist who really existed? I always thought he was a theoretical physicist! Haw haw, very funny.

In case you didn’t get the joke, I will now ruin it by explaining it.

It’s funny because something being “theoretical” can mean it’s not real, just an idea perhaps - something confined to the imagination. At the same time a “theoretical physicist” is a type of physicist who studies the mathematical ideas and theories behind physics.

As it happens Einstein’s theoretical physics turned out to be incredibly practical. His special theory of relativity is one of the most tried and tested pieces of scientific knowledge out there. We rely on it for everything from nuclear power to GPS navigation. Every time you load up a map on your phone a little arrow somehow knows where you are standing, Einstein’s theory is proving itself to be correct.

I mention this joke because I think sometimes I am in danger of being a “theoretical Catholic”. That is to say, not a Catholic who appears only in your imagination but a Catholic who studies the ideas and theories behind Catholicism a lot more than he actually practices them.

Recently, somebody asked a question that I have often seen lobbed at traditional Catholics like a sort of ideological hand grenade. “How can you participate at Mass if you don’t understand Latin? Huh? Huh?” Usually, people who ask such things don’t wait around for an answer. They don’t really want to know. It’s theoretical. In this case it was different, a lady at our local Latin Mass was coming from a far more practical perspective. “Is it okay for me to receive Holy Communion” she asked, “if I have not understood the words and followed what is happening?” She wasn’t an ideological opponent looking for a quick win, but somebody with a genuine interest in learning more about the Latin Mass.

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‘If I turn up to Mass and understand every word the Priest says, but do not have love, it’s all just empty gestures…’

The answer, assuming there is no other obstacle, is that of course she can receive Holy Communion. Not knowing at any given moment precisely which part of the Mass the Priest is saying doesn’t mean you can’t understand in your heart and in your head what the Mass is and why you are there. The same goes for parents who might have spent most of Mass just outside of the Church with a screaming child, only catching the occasional hint of a bell somewhere in the distance.

Such parents are done a disservice, I think, by the mistaken belief that we can only participate at Mass by saying and doing things. If you do not sing loudly, say the responses, hear the prayers, understand the words and sit/stand/kneel at the appropriate moments - have you even been to Mass?

Of course you have.

What actually matters here is that you love God. “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1Cor 13:1). Or to paraphrase - if I turn up to Mass and understand every word the Priest says, but do not have love, it’s all just empty gestures. The flip side is true - if I go to Mass and adore Jesus on the altar but have not the foggiest idea what is going on in terms of specific liturgical prayers and actions, that is really all that I need.

It’s a strange sort of irony that traditional Catholics, so often accused of caring only about external appearances, are now having to explain that external appearances are not what matters here.

So hold on James, you are saying that as long as we love God, we don’t need incense, chant, Latin or fancy fiddleback chasubles? That doesn’t sound very traditional!

Well it is.

The key here is to remember that all of those things are signs and symbols of spiritual realities and ultimately, the only spiritual reality that matters is - do you love God? If you read the Catechism of the Council of Trent 1566 you will find that "he who loveth has fulfilled the law" and yet in another classic Catholic “both/and” situation it also quotes Our Lord that “If anyone love me, he will keep my word” (Jn 14:23).

In other words – traditional Catholics are not modern Pharisees.

We do not believe in salvation by box ticking - if we love God then the boxes are ticked by default. At the same time we cannot be simply “theoretical Catholics” talking all of the time and never doing.

There is no contradiction here like Einstein’s theory, our love of God should not remain purely theoretical.

It has to have real life practical consequences. Something I for one, could do to work at.

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ART AND DEVOTION

Christ Appearing to His Mother Caroline Farey on a late 15th century Netherlandish picture by Juan de Flandes ‘ This woman endured all things triumphantly’ (Rev 6:1).

These are the first words of the scroll, held by an angel in dark blue at the top of this painting. It is a quotation from the Book of Revelation which continues, ‘therefore a crown was given unto her.’ (Rev 6:1), and the angel carries a crown for the Mother of Christ below, for bearing with unwavering faith her absolute trust in the almighty goodness and faithfulness of God. What is happening in this painting?

The artist has imagined Jesus going to meet his mother immediately after he has risen from the dead. This scene is not found in any of the gospel accounts. There we are told of Mary standing at the foot of the cross and that Jesus gave John to his mother.

John, ‘from that hour, took her to his own home’ (Jn 19:27). Mary, then, will have gone to John’s home and ‘kept all these things, pondering them in her heart’ (Lk 2:19).

In and with Mary, our Holy Mother the Church has done the same and her pondering has produced traditions1 and images that are not in the Scriptures, but which can help us appreciate more fully the depths of the immense mystery of our salvation.

At the back of this scene, through the open doors, we see Jesus stepping from the tomb, passing through the soldiers lying around him on the ground and moving towards this house where his mother now lives.

You can see that, rather than night, it is fully day and the fields through which Jesus is about to walk are green and lush. This is indicating that the light and life of the resurrected Christ are immediately filling and renewing the earth.

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Mary is kneeling at the foot of a pillar reminiscent of the cross. She has been praying, reading, pondering the events of the betrayal and death of her beloved son. Mary does not seem to have slept since she left the cross. A tear on her cheek reveals that she has been crying, following, no doubt, Jesus’ words to the Holy women, ‘weep not for me but for your children’ (Lk 23:28). The dark blue of her cloak and dress envelops her like the continuation of the dreadful darkness of Holy Saturday night and the ongoing sin of the world.

In contrast, the sudden joy in Mary’s soul, as she raises both hands and looks up to behold her son risen from the dead, is revealed in a text written in the border of her cloak.

Here the gold lettering spells out, in abbreviated form, the words of the Magnificat, Mary’s hymn of purest joy when her cousin Elizabeth first greeted her as ‘mother of my Lord’ (Lk 1:43).

The word ‘MAGNIFICAT’, starting on the crown of Mary’s head, begins the hymn circling the edge of the cloak. It is upside down, a typical device in anunciation scenes that indicates Mary speaking directly with God. Just below her raised right hand you may be able to make out the continuation of the hymn: RESPEXIT HUMILITATEM ANCILIAE– “He looks on his servant in her lowliness,” just as Jesus, the Son of God, is looking at her now with intense love and perhaps even some pain at the suffering that is still on her face.

The two figures of Jesus and his mother are deliberately placed in semi-typical positions of Mary and the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. In this way the artist is uniting Archangel Gabriel’s annunciation of the conception of Jesus Christ in Mary’s

womb, with Jesus’ annunciation to her of his resurrected life for the salvation of the world.

At the same time, Jesus also shows his mother the, now permanent, wounds in his hands, with his left hand raised in such a way that it seems almost to point to the wooden doorframe with three nails in it as a reminder of his death on the cross.

The fingers of Christ’s right hand are carefully positioned. The thumb proclaims the One God; the three fingers in a row show us the three persons of the Trinity; the little finger joins the middle finger to indicate the two natures of Christ by which his divine person is now united to his redeemed body, the Church.

The stone capitals at the top of the four pillars surrounding the intimate scene of mother and son, proclaim Christ’s victory over death. On the dark pillar nearest to Christ, the sculpted scene is of David victoriously killing Goliath with his sword to save the Israelites from death. Then at the top of the pale stone pillar behind Mary, Samson is overcoming the lion (Judg 14:6) and is then depicted escaping death by carrying away the gates of Gaza (Judg 16:3). This is understood as typology for Christ breaking down the gates of Hell.

The other two capitals, one either side, are of the strawberry plant with abundant fruit. This symbolises the fruits of the promised kingdom: righteousness, perfection, modesty and humility.2 The statuary of what could be called the chancel arch, that is, the archway that leads into the sanctuary area, has scenes from the adult life of the Blessed Virgin.

These scenes are, counterclockwise from the centre of the arch, highest on the left:

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ART AND DEVOTION The two stone figures either side of Jesus and his Blessed Mother are, on Christ’s side, St Mark the Evangelist with the lion at his feet. 3 On the right behind Our Lady is St Paul, recognisable by his bald head and his sword.

This painting was originally the right-hand panel of a triptych altarpiece of scenes from Our Lady’s life. The other two panels are in Granada, Spain. The left-hand panel is of the Nativity, Mary with the new-born Christ. The centre panel is of the Pieta, Mary with the dead Christ, with this third panel being of Mary with the risen Christ. As the Catechism says, ‘What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.’ (CCC487).

As we have seen, this panel is set in the ‘house’ of the beloved disciple John, which has the architecture of a church. It was painted for a church and it represents the Church, where the Blessed Virgin Mary lives and Christ is for ever re-united with his mother.

Title: ‘Christ Appearing to His Mother’, by Juan de Flandes, Netherlandish ca. 1496 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Medium: Oil on wood, Dimensions: 25 x 15 in.

Credit Line: The Bequest of Michael Dreicer, 1921.

Adapted with from an article originally written for the ‘Catechetical Review’ Summer 2021, Editor Dr James Pauley, Franciscan University Steubenville, Ohio.

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The holy women telling the Blessed Mother of their visit to Christ’s tomb.

This is followed by Christ’s Ascension while the Virgin Mary and the Apostles look on.

The lowest of these three scenes is the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The stone carved scenes continue on the right, above the figure of Mary, with an angel bringing the Blessed Mother a palm branch in

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another annunciation, this time of her impending death.

Above this, The Virgin Mother holds the palm branch herself as a sign that her life on earth has come to its end as she sits on a tomb-like seat surrounded by the apostles.

The final scene is of the Virgin Mary being carried up to heaven by two angels where God the Father and Son await her with a crown for her head.

1. The tradition of Jesus appearing to his mother after the Resurrection is first found in the 13th century ‘Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ’ by the Pseudo-Bonaventure.

2. See https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/ f035_Strawberry.htm Here, it also says, “Its threepartitioned leaf is a reminder of the Holy Trinity.

The fruits, pointing downward, are the drops of Blood of Christ, and the five petals of its white flower, His five Wounds.”

3. This is from the Museum’s commentary, however, it might be Sant Luke with the bull at his feet because the tail, I believe, is more like the tail of a bull and St Luke, being the Evangelist of the Annunciation, seems more likely, unless there are historical reasons which are not mentioned, why this must be St Mark.

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The power of tradition Joseph Shaw reviews the Raphael exhibition at the National Gallery until 31 July

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hile by no means comprehensive, this exhibition is large and logically arranged, a thorough introduction to Raphael, with something to teach even seasoned fans: it is highly recommended.

We know little about Raffaello Santi (or Sanzio) (1483–1520), and the stories told about him by the great biographer of the Renaissance artists, Vasari, must be taken with a pinch of salt. He died on Good Friday at the age of 37, after two decades of intense work as a painter, also producing prints, tapestry designs, architecture, and bronzes. A long letter in his own hand has been preserved begging Pope Leo X to halt the destruction of ancient buildings and statues in Rome: they were being burnt to produce lime for cement. Pope Leo put Raphael in charge of archaeology.

The exhibition makes clear a progression in Raphael’s work from the pale, brightly lit, and static early works such as the ‘Mond Crucifixion’ (1502-3), to the late ‘Madonna of the Rose’ (15167). In the latter, St Joseph, standing behind Our Lady, emerges dimly from the dark background, which contrasts with the shiningly cherubic infants, St John the Baptist and the Christ Child, on and around the Blessed Virgin Mary’s lap. Christ is grasping the scroll traditionally associated with these groupings, bearing the words ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’, which is being handed to Him by St John.

The playful determination of Christ, in pulling this ribbon of parchment towards Himself, is very natural and evocative of the spirit of a young toddler. At the same time, of course, it is symbolically charged: Christ is accepting St John’s proclamation of Him as the sacrificial Lamb. This combination of realism and idealisation, and of the playful and the serious, is one of Raphael’s great gifts to Western art. At its simplest, it is on display in the intense joy and affection shown by his Madonnas

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Madonna of the Rose

towards the infant Christ: natural and authentic, and yet pointing towards something supernatural, eternal, and universal.

In Raphael’s religious paintings the figures tend not to look at the viewer, but at each other, heavenwards, or—in some cases, like the Ansidei Madonna— at copies of the Scriptures. By contrast,

in many of the portraits, the sitter gazes at us directly. I felt that the personalities of Raphael’s friends, Bindo Altoviti and Baldassare Castiglione, and in a different way, of his patron Pope Julius II, impose themselves on the viewer with great intensity in these wonderful portraits, but Raphael is trying to do something different in the devotional works.

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In these, we are not primarily concerned with the sitters, after all, but with what they represent. In the concern of the figures in each other, in heaven, and in the scriptures, they are not only acting as a model for our imitation, but are drawing us into the relationship they themselves are enjoying: the heavenly ambition of St Catherine of Alexandria, gazing upwards; the devotion to Our Lady of St Raphael the Archangel and his protégé Tobias; and the affection already noted of Our Lady herself to her Son. These are really efficacious signs: they show us the attitude we should have, and at the same time, they evoke this attitude in the devout viewer. We are encouraged in our own affection for the Christ Child, for example, by seeing the bond between Mother and Child in the painting.

Sentimental devotional art tries to fake this process, using powerful but inauthentic emotions: it aims for example to make us feel soppy about Jesus, which is destructive of real piety. More artistically challenging is to draw us into Our Lady’s complex, authentic, and dignified attitude: of natural affection, disinterested love, and worship.

Raphael is in many ways the culmination of what went before, and the model of what came after, until, eventually, deliberate attempts were made to get away from his influence.

This was done in one way by the selfstyled Pre-Raphaelites, and in a very different way by the modernists: Pablo Picasso remarked that it took him years to escape his early training ‘to draw like Raphael’.

The power of this tradition evokes suspicion, envy, and hatred, as well as reverence and imitation. Before leaving the National Gallery, I visited the Sainsbury Wing, where the work of many of Raphael’s great predecessors is

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The Mond Crucifixion

displayed. Juxtaposed to these were a series of objects by the Gallery’s current Artist in Residence, Ali Cherri, which varied from the merely ugly to images suggestive of obscenity and sacrilege. This is the homage paid by inarticulate hatred to an artistic tradition it cannot hope to rival or displace.

These will be carted away, I hope to be incinerated, on 12 June.

We can be grateful that no-one thought to be similarly clever with the Raphael exhibition itself.

Images are from Wikipedia Commons

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FEATURE

Unsung hero Charles A. Coulombe remembers a remarkable and wise Catholic convert

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any period dramas set in the England of the 1920s and 30 will mention in passing the rather Dickensian name of Marie Stopes. This lady – the Margaret Sanger of Britain – is usually mentioned as some sort of heroine of freedom. Her main antagonist in real life was a nearly forgotten figure, who unlike Dr Stopes sought to preserve life medically, and improve it, literarily.

He was Dr Halliday Sutherland (18821960). Sutherland was a contemporary of G.K. Chesterton, who remarked of his writings that “Dr Halliday Sutherland is a born writer, especially a born story-teller.

Dr Sutherland, who is distinguished in medicine, is an amateur in the sense that he only writes when he has nothing better to do. But when he does, it could hardly be done better.” Great praise indeed, from such a writer.

Born in Glasgow to a noted doctor and his wife, after attending High School in Glasgow and Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, he followed his father’s profession, receiving his MD in 1908 from Edinburgh University.

The elder Sutherland had been Deputy Commissioner in Lunacy for Scotland, and spent his career combatting mental illness. Young Halliday would devote his medical career to poor slum dwellers afflicted with tuberculosis – which was particularly lethal among the young.

Working closely with Sir Robert William Philip, he started a tuberculosis clinic and an open-air school in the bandstand of Regent's Park in London in 1911.

Sutherland also produced in that year “The Story of John McNeil,” a cinema film on preventing and treating tuberculosis among the poor. At that time, around 70,000 succumbed to the disease each year in Britain – and if it was the head of the family who died, all of his dependents were impoverished.

Baptised into the Church of Scotland, Dr. Sutherland had lost his faith by this time. In 1914 he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Nevertheless, he continued his battle against tuberculosis. His fury knew no bounds when he discovered that tubercular milk was being knowingly given to and infecting children.

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Addressing the National Council of the YMCA on 4 September, 1917, he said: “Tuberculous milk kills 10,000 children every year and creates an amount of child sickness, suffering and sorrow so widespread as to be incomprehensible to a finite mind, and no more natural than if their food had been poisoned with arsenic. Yet in London to-day, one out of every eleven churns of milk arriving at our railway termini contains this deathdealing bacteria.” Sutherland complained that despite the recommendation for pasteurisation made many years before by a Royal Commission, nothing had been done. Why? Sutherland identified the culprit in one word: Eugenics.

As Darwinism became the leading Scientificist dogma during the course of the late 19th century, its child, Social Darwinism, emerged; with the latter came Eugenics – the idea that the human race should be bred “upwards,” like cattle.

It became extremely popular amongst the Scientifically-minded – so much so that virtually every environmentalist institution or association a century or more in age has spent the last Wokerypowered two years shredding the memories of their founders – such men as Louis Agassiz, William Hornaday, Luther Burbank, John Muir, and a host of other such figures, who held these views in varying degrees. Even so anodyne a source as the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica preached this gospel in the article “Civilization:” “Equally obvious must it appear to the cosmopolite of some generation of the future that quality rather than mere numbers must determine the efficiency of any given community. Race suicide will then cease to be a bugbear; and it will no longer be considered rational to keep up the census at the cost of propagating low orders of intelligence, to feed the ranks of paupers, defectives and criminals. On the contrary it will be thought fitting that man should become the conscious arbiter of his own racial destiny to the extent of applying whatever laws of heredity he knows or may acquire in the interests of his own species, as he has long applied them in the case of domesticated animals. The

survival and procreation of the unfit will then cease to be a menace to the progress of civilization.”

In his struggle against tuberculosis, Sutherland encountered opposition from the ranks of Eugenicists embedded in Britain’s establishment. In 1912, Sir James Barr – president of the British Medical Conference – gave that organisation’s annual conference some interesting guidance on the disease: “Nature … weeds out those who have not got the innate power of recovery from disease, and by means of the tubercle bacillus and other pathogenic organisms she frequently does this before the reproductive age, so that a check is put on the multiplication of idiots and the feeble-minded. Nature’s methods are thus of advantage to the race rather than to the individual.” Four years later, in 1918, Sir James made himself crystal clear: “Until we have some restriction in the marriage of undesirables the elimination of the tubercle bacillus is not worth aiming at. It forms a rough, but on the whole very serviceable check, on the survival and propagation of the unfit[.] … I am of opinion … that if tomorrow the tubercle bacillus were nonexistent, it would be nothing short of a national calamity. We are not yet ready for its disappearance.”

It was this callous, inhuman attitude that Sutherland castigated in his 1917 speech as that of “race breeders with the souls of cattle-breeders.” From that time on he would be the sworn enemy of the Eugenicists and the misery they caused.

After the War he began reading the CTS pamphlets at Westminster Cathedral.

As he put it: “The pamphlets shook all my preconceptions. Apart from their unique and tremendous claim that this was the one true infallible Church of God, I discovered that most of what I had hitherto heard or thought about the Church was false. I discovered that this Church, accredited with superstition and idolatry, was apparently engaged in upholding the dignity of human reason in a world of chaos. Nay, more, it seemed as if my own Protestantism, and the weakness thereof, had been based on

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FEATURE sentiment and emotion, two attributes of mind on which Rome held a tight reign.

It was also apparent that God could not have approved a hundred different sects, each declaring the others to be wrong.

There could only be one Truth and one true Church.” In 1919, he converted to Catholicism at London’s Farm Street Church; a year later he married Muriel Fitzpatrick with whom he would have six children. He also continued to fight TB in various governmental medical posts.

In the meantime, two female eugenicists, the American Margaret Sanger and the Scottish Marie Stopes had met in 1913. Both saw artificial birth control as a kinder means of accomplishing what Sir James had wished to do through disease and death. In 1920, each set up birth control clinics in New York and London respectively, and did their very best to lure “unfit” mothers to avail themselves of their services. Stopes founded an organisation to this end dubbed the “Society for Constructive Birth Control and Racial Progress.” Two years later, Sutherland wrote a pamphlet entitled Birth Control: A Statement of Christian Doctrine Against the Neo Malthusians. It is a brilliant explosion of the theories old and new of the socall “population explosion.” In it, he shows – a la Chesterton and Belloc – the Enclosures had driven Englishmen off the land and into the cities, where they became the urban mob that staffed the factories of the nascent Industrial Revolution – and suffered the grinding poverty Sutherland had spent so much time combatting. As Paul VI and others would point out decades later, it was not numbers that were the problem, but mismanagement and greed on the part of Society’s masters. He then – without mentioning her name – attacked the evil work that Marie Stopes was doing at her clinic.

She sued him for libel; over the next few years he would win the case, she won the appeal, and he at last triumphed in the House of Lords. But although Sutherland was victorious, Stopes and her American Coven-sister were not stopped; in our time Contraception is a secular Sacrament, with the terrible results in terms of population loss that he predicted: “Our declining birth-rate is a fact of the utmost gravity, and a more serious position has never confronted the British people. Here in the midst of a great nation, at the end of a victorious war, the law of decline is working, and by that law the greatest empires in the world have perished. In comparison with that single fact all other dangers, be they of

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Stopes and Halliday: legal battles

war, of politics, or of disease, are of little moment. Attempts have already been made to avert the consequences by the partial endowment of motherhood and by a saving of infant life. Physiologists are now seeking among the endocrinous glands and the vitamines [sic] for a substance to assist procreation. ‘Where are my children?’ was the question shouted yesterday from the cinemas.

‘Let us have children, children at any price,’ will be the cry of to-morrow.” Our leaders’ attempts to make up for that with massive immigration and the like is bearing mixed results.

But Sutherland continued his primarily rather jolly way. In addition to medical works, he wrote a very successful autobiography, The Arches of Years, in 1933, and a host of extremely engaging travel books. I discovered him when a teenager by reading some of these. Although not meant as didactic works, his keen understanding of human nature was never far away.

Describing a visit to the most Protestant Scottish Island of Lewis, he remarked: “In the main, the people of the island are Calvinists and regular churchgoers.

Dressed in the deepest black, they go to church on Sabbaths and sometimes on week-days. Whenever I saw these little groups coming along the roads on their way to worship, the thought always came to me: where is the corpse? For the youth of the island, dancing, music, or gay dresses were taboo. These things were sinful. Many of the old women would sit in their chairs groaning aloud for hours. That was sanctity. Apart altogether from dogma, this attitude towards life is the antithesis of Catholicism. The Catholic Church knows and has named every sin that the human heart can commit, and there is one sin defined as ‘Accidia’ — taking a delight in being miserable.”

By way of contrast, “In South Uist, one of the islands of the Outer Hebrides, are people of the same race, but there the girls wear coloured dresses, and there is dancing, singing and bagpipes.

South Uist is Catholic, and I do not think that the extraordinary difference

between the people of these two islands can be explained otherwise than as a difference in their faith. At its worst Catholicism is human; at its best Calvinism is inhuman.”

A far-ranging voyager, Sutherland took his readers to Lapland, the Hebrides, Australia, Spain, Ireland, and elsewhere. In the last-named country, he fell somewhat foul of the local hierarchy because of critical remarks he wrote in the first draught of Irish Journey. Here he criticised the Magdalene Laundries which later came under such scrutiny, and the Irish secular clergy in general: “In 1955 I wrote Irish Journey and this book has been damned by faint praise from every newspaper critic in Ireland. I was not surprised, because all the critics have ignored my main criticism, which concerns the Irish secular clergy. In my opinion they have too much political power. They hold themselves aloof from their people, and are too fond of money…

If Ireland goes communist within the next ten years, I think the secular clergy will be to blame.” Well, it took longer than ten years, and it is not to Communism per se which Ireland has fallen victim; but I do not think Sutherland would have been too surprised to see the results of the abortion and gay marriage referenda in Ireland. Heart-broken, to be sure, but not surprised.

Indeed, a surprising amount of prescience runs throughout his writings.

In his second autobiographical volume, A Time to Keep (1934), Sutherland opines that, “Without religion we know nothing of the purpose of life or of what happens after death. If there be no God there can be no religion, or if God is unknowable there can be no religion.

This last is modern paganism. There is a God, but He has never made any revelation of His will to anyone, and all codes of morality were invented by man as a social convenience.” He did not simply understand the real nature of Eugenics – he understood the nature of Modernity itself. This is a very good time to rediscover this wise Catholic convert, and we are fortunate that his Australian grandson, Mark Halliday both maintains an extremely detailed website dedicated to his grandfather (hallidaysutherland.com/) and has co-authored with his brother Neil a fascinating book on their forebears’ struggle with Marie Stopes and her ilk, Exterminating Poverty: The true story of the eugenic plan to get rid of the poor and the Scottish doctor who fought against it. Sutherland was truly a hero we need to rediscover.

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COMMENT

The work of the Holy Ghost Mary O’Regan suggests we pray for our detractors

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t is my favourite anniversary: twenty years ago, this summer, I assisted at my first Latin Mass.

This joyful occasion coincides with the one-year anniversary of Traditionis Custodes, the thought of which lowers my mood instantly.

In the wake of this motu proprio, which rigidly restricts the usus antiquior , people who dislike Traditional Catholicism have been emboldened. It’s as if they feel they have papal backing to attack.

Over recent decades, I’ve repeatedly heard two slurs levelled against those who attend the usus antiquior and I’d like to respond to these directly and share some suggestions.

I’ve heard more loudly than ever before the claim that Traditional Catholics lack charity; the second accusation is that they are tools of the devil.

I’ve known several parents who were young people when the Novus Ordo Mass was promulgated, and they hotly resent it when their children become Traditional Catholics. One man who is well into his seventies told me, he “will go down with the ship” and that those who led his children towards a Mass that is being curtailed by the Vatican are “tools of the devil in how they divide Catholic families into going to two separate Masses.” When I asked him if he preferred that his adult children

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only ever attended Mass when he demanded their attendance (as was the case before they experienced the Latin Mass), he was silent for a minute and then simply repeated that Trads do the work of the devil.

Our detractors like to protest that we lack charity because we bemoan liturgical abuses. The topic, however, that most aggravates them is the lack of young people at the Novus Ordo, when the pews at Latin Mass are filled with young people and young families who have babies climbing on every arm.

Those who dislike the Traditional Mass protest that they are charitable because they keep a “polite” silence about the absence of the young at the Mass offered in the vernacular. They take pride in their special degree of charity and they get a buzz from feeling special as the ones who’ve slapped down those nasty Trads for voicing uncomfortable truths. They insist it is not diplomatic or kind to tell older people about the large numbers of young people at the Traditional Latin Mass. They can criticize us it seems and remain convinced of their charity; but if we criticize, we are castigated as uncharitable.

This nonsense is mild compared to the hot assertion that Traditional Catholics essentially do the devil’s bidding. I’ve known this to be a stealthily controlling tactic which actually sways a certain number of scrupulous people through fear – there are some pious souls who believe it when they hear that Traditional Catholics are so divisive that they are diabolical. God forgive those who know better and yet reiterate this careless insult because they potentially endanger themselves so gravely that anyone who has a voice must in all charity ask them if by claiming the devil is speaking through us, are they not blaspheming the Holy Ghost?

The Latin Mass is attracting young people, has many young vocations and inspires devotion and commitment to the sacraments, a desire to be holy and a fear of sin. This is not the work of the devil but has all the hallmarks of the Holy Ghost.

‘The Latin Mass is attracting young people, has many young vocations and inspires devotion and commitment to the sacraments’ I remember myself as a young teenager at my first Latin Mass, feeling this desire to die for the Mass, like the priests in old Ireland whose throats were cut when they were discovered to be offering Holy Mass on isolated hillsides and deep in the rich green bosom of the Irish countryside.

Anyone who claims that the inspiration from the Holy Ghost to love the Mass of Ages and to bring other souls to this Mass is the work of Satan is deluded; to confuse the work of the Holy Ghost with that of Satan is potentially a dire blasphemy. To be fair, they may not mean to blaspheme, but the risk is there and they need to be told the danger. So, on a most urgent basis, I invite you to ask your opponents to discern if they are in fact committing a most grave blasphemy.

If they persist in saying the devil is working through Trads, then you may have to tell them you will pray the prayers to the Holy Face in reparation for what you suspect is their blasphemy. Oh, and tell them you will have a Latin Mass offered for their intentions. This, more than anything, is the best way to make them think twice about ever suggesting that the devil is behind the promotion of the Latin Mass.

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WINE

Rich and malty Sebastian Morello on the ales of The Chiltern Brewery

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ver since the 1st century Roman general St Eustace, whilst out hunting with his hounds, was granted by heaven the miraculous vision of a great stag with a crucifix poised between its antlers, there has been a deep relationship between our holy religion and the pursuit of quarry.

Indeed, six centuries later, St Hubert was granted a similar vision, after which he became a bishop and eventually was named by the Church the patron saint of hunting. The monks of St Hubert in the Lowlands of northern Europe bred the famous St Hubert hound, from which our foxhounds, bloodhounds, beagles, harriers, and hunting bassets are partly descended.

Divine grace enters nature from without and transforms it from within.

To the degree we fly from nature, we retreat from the arena where grace can operate and lead what God has made to its proper finality, Christ’s own kingdom.

There is no grace in The Metaverse. The Catholic, then, is a natural outdoorsman.

I learned this as a schoolboy, when I would often go up to Shropshire on the weekends to follow a pack of beagles for which a schoolfriend was a whipper-in.

This friend was the only Catholic I knew, and he didn’t only help to plant the seed that would grow into my conversion to the Faith years later, but he also fostered in me what became a love of houndwork.

Whilst out in the hunting field, towards the close of the Season, I recently discussed these topics among others with a friend—a traddy Catholic who got me back into hunting with hounds after a regrettable interlude.

Hunting gives rise to a tremendous thirst, which is only properly satiated by old English ale. Fortunately, that day’s meet had taken place a stone’s throw from my favourite brewery in all the world: The Chiltern Brewery.

A traditional Catholic needs a traditional ale, and that is exactly what The Chiltern Brewery specialises in.

You will find none of that inexplicably popular, urine-coloured, over-hopped, fizzy, sour, American-style, hipster

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battery-acid at The Chiltern Brewery.

Rather, this family-run business excels in brewing rich, malty, lightly hopped, old ales that one could well imagine being served in pewter mugs at the 111th birthday party of Bilbo Baggins.

Located on a working farm in the heart of the Chilterns, the brewery was founded in 1980 by Richard and Lesley Jenkinson, and is now run by their sons, George and Tom. According to them, the brewery was founded “to produce natural, wholesome beers using the best, class A malt and hops sourced in England,” adding that they opt for “age-old methods” by which their “beers are brewed with skill, passion, and integrity.”

Certainly, their most popular beer is their traditional ale, Beechwood Best Bitter. This was their first ale, and the recipe—using Maris Otter and Crystal malts that give it its amber colour and nutty base, as well as Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings hops, creating a delightful toffee aroma with a fruity finish—hasn’t changed in forty years. The Monument Pale Ale, combining honeyed malts with the light citrus of British Cascade hops, makes for an excellent summer session beer. My favourite of those available in the bottle, however, is the Three Hundreds Dark Old Ale, a truly satisfying, rich, heavy beer with a long, pleasing finish.

On draught, besides their everpopular Beechwood Best Bitter and their pale ale, one will find the excellent Chiltern Black, a perfect all year-round old-style English porter with a toffee-ish taste, hints of roast barley, and being gently hopped, culminates in a long,

chocolaty finish. The Chiltern Ruby is a wonderful, full-bodied ale which, for some opaque reason, drinks very well in autumn, and marks an experience not entirely dissimilar to eating a fruitcake.

The Chiltern Ruby ale was the result of a collaboration between the brewery and the good chaps at the Campaign for Real Ale, and has become extremely popular.

My absolute favourite beer from The Chiltern Brewery, however, is their Christmas seasonal ale, Festive Foxtrot.

This beer, the perfect winter-warmer, evoking all those smells and spices of Christmas, and arriving right in the middle of the hunting Season, is really as good as English ale gets.

My fellow hunt-follower and I arrived at the brewery and drove through its gates, under an arch upon which is emblazoned the brewery’s motto: Fear God and give Him the Glory! A dictum that one finds on all the brewery’s bottles, kegs, and even on their beautiful tankards which can be bought in the brewery shop. These words are usually also inscribed just below the brewery logo, which is an image of a fox with a very full brush standing in front of a beech tree.

As it happens, one can only purchase beer at the brewery to take away, as they do not have a working bar. Thankfully, there is a splendid pub half a mile down the road in which Chiltern ale is the only ale going, and where the food is good too, and so we were duly directed to this old-fashioned tavern where we drank, ate, and made merry in honour of St Eustace, St Hubert, and their happy collaborator, St Arnold of Soissons— patron saint of beer!

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FEATURE

Champion of Our Lady Devotion to the Rosary was revived in the late 15th century by a Dominican Friar, as Alan Frost explains

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lessed Alan de la Roche is probably little known among the Catholic population of the UK. It is also probable that he never visited these shores. Even so, his name should be well known, for he was instrumental in the revival and promotion of the prayer so special to Our Lady, the Rosary.

His time is the 15th century, particularly the years 1460 to his death in 1475, broadly two hundred and fifty years after St Dominic’s astonishing ministry. He was about 22 when he joined the Order of Preachers in 1450, distinguishing himself as a scholar in Paris before returning to Dinan, a convent in his native Brittany. Here he gained a reputation as a fine preacher and teacher of novices, but his calling was to be much more than these things.

According to his own writings, one day in 1460 he was celebrating Mass (possibly in Paris, rather than Dinan, where he was completing a work on The Sententiae of Peter Lombard) when he heard Christ speaking to him from the Host he was elevating. The words were a stern admonition: “You have all the learning and understanding that you need to preach My Mother’s rosary and you are not doing so. If you only did this you could teach many souls the right path and lead them away from sin…” Shocked and horrified he resolved to devote himself to promoting the Rosary. Shortly after, he received words of encouragement in his task from Our Lady herself and would subsequently receive further supernatural messages and visions.

These included words from St Dominic recounting his own great success in teaching the Rosary, or the ‘Psalter of Jesus and Mary’ as it was originally known. This was because the number of prayers equalled the number of psalms in the Bible and were said by many instead of them, or as they heard them being chanted.

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Blessed Alan de la Roche depicted in an early woodcut

This, then, can be taken as the beginning of Blessed Alan’s role as the champion of Our Lady in promoting this most special of devotions, a devotion the world has been urged to practise down the ages by the Blessed Virgin herself. Starting from St Dominic,

moving on to Blessed Alan and to others such as St Louis Marie de Montfort, St Bernadette, and the little seers at Fatima. Research beyond this short article may see Blessed Alan referred to as ‘Alanus de Rupe’, the name by which he was known in his convent.

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FEATURE At the beginning of his special, personal ministry he transferred to Lille and in 1464 to Douai (where William Allen founded the English College just over a century later). It was here in this year that he received a further instruction from Our Lady, which involved promoting the Confraternity of the Rosary, originally established by St Dominic, but over the years almost forgotten. This was, of course, during the aftermath of an earlier pandemic, the Black Death which had raged across Europe.

The Confraternity involved a simple agreement that a person, from whatever social background (a great gift for the illiterate and the poor), would say so many rosaries per week, perhaps only three. The two major prayers of the Rosary (Psalter), then as now, were those already said for generations: the Pater Noster and the Ave. The Our Father was known from the outset through scripture - the vital gift from Our Lord’s own mouth in response to a disciple’s request that He teach them how to pray (Lk 11:2).

The Hail Mary had also evolved from the Gospels, the angelic salutation, and the divinely inspired greeting of Elizabeth on her cousin’s visit.

The addition of the word ‘Jesus’ after ‘womb’ is generally accredited to Pope Urban IV about 1262, some forty years after St Dominic’s death.

The crucial and didactic point about the gift of the Rosary to St Dominic was the structuring of these prayers in a specific format and their use as a weapon to combat the spreading heresy of the Albigensians. It was this that Fr Dominic Guzman had been fighting against, and fearing he was losing the battle he prayed fervently to Our Lady to help him succeed. After three nights of solid prayer, she told him he would triumph by means of her Psalter and the method of saying it which he was to teach. For this reason, the term St Dominic’s Rosary is sometimes used, with justification and the endorsement down the ages of numerous popes. One of the best books on the Rosary is by Robert Feeney (The Rosary – The Little Summa ), in which he states this Marian gift was made at Prouilhe in 1208, the place of the first unofficial and only recently established Dominican community, formed of a group of nuns converted from Albigensianism.

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Much of what we know about Dominic and the origin of the Rosary is given to us by de la Roche. St LouisMarie de Montfort refers to him often in his little classic The Secret of the Rosary, calling each of the fifty beads a Rose and dedicating the fourth to Blessed Alan.

Which raises the question of the use of the term ‘Rosary’. Briefly it can mean a rose-garden which can relate to a place where one walks to pray or something generally of great promise or riches, or a garland or wreath of roses, in turn linking to a crown or chaplet, which both derive from the Latin ‘corona’. The symbolism of the beauty, the fragrance, the thorns, the red and white colours, the ‘mystical rose tree’ is very much a part of the simple or elaborate aid to prayer.

There is a reference in an anonymous poem of 1213, after the Battle of Muret (near Toulouse) when the Albigensian forces were physically as well as spiritually defeated, to Dominic bringing roses to confer upon Our Lady (Dominicus rosas afferre/ dum incipit tam humilis/Dominus coronas conferre…). However, it would appear that Dominic used the word ‘psalter’ in his teaching as did Blessed Alan, though the term ‘rosary’ was certainly used by his confreres, as when Fr James Sprenger OP followed Blessed Alan’s lead by setting up the Cologne Confraternity of the Rosary in 1474.

A development of the original confraternities of St Dominic

by Blessed Alan is that people now signed up to promise to pray a number of rosaries each week. A practice followed down the centuries. But of much more importance was the nature of the rosary that Blessed Alan taught.

Mary had instructed Dominic to pray and preach her psaltery of 15 Pater Nosters and 150 Aves. This remained the essential structure, gradually divided into sets of one and ten beads.

However, largely through St Bernadine of Siena, the second part of the Hail Mary had been added, such that like the Our Father it formed a salutation followed by petition. The Salve Regina as we know today, through the refinement of the 11th century prayer

by St Bernard, was also said. Moreover a further very important development in part owes its origin to a Carthusian monk, Dominic of Prussia (died 1460) who would add short references to

each Ave, such as ‘Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem.’ In so doing he was beginning the notion of meditating upon aspects of Christ’s life and ministry, though the term ‘mysteries’ would be introduced after Blessed Alan’s time by a fellow Dominican, Alberto de Castello in 1521 (as later would the Glory Be, quite possibly

by St Louis-Maris de Montfort). De Castello also structured the rosary into three sets of five Pater Nosters and 50 Aves that he called ‘The Incarnation of Christ’, ‘The Passion of Christ’ and ‘The Resurrection of Christ’, which would later become the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.

So, it was by the re-establishment of the Confraternity, the consolidating of the prayers of the Psalter of Jesus and Mary into the meditative structure we know today, and particularly his zeal in promoting it, that Blessed Alan de la Roche has become a towering figure in the history of this most special prayer.

In the words of St Louis-Marie de Montfort, “ever since he re-established this devotion, the voice of the people, which is the voice of God, called it the Rosary.”

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CROSSWORD Clues Across 1 Canonised child to whom Our Lady appeared in Fatima (7) 5 & 8: Latin proclamation of ‘Long live the King’ (5,3) 8 See 5 Across 9 Considers the Mysteries of the Rosary (9) 10 Othello’s people repulsed from Catholic Spain (5) 11 Protectors of knights in the Middle Ages (9) 14 Severe defeat linked in a way to a Verdi Chorus (9) 18 See 19 Down 21 Copying the work of Thomas à Kempis? (9) 22 Call of a dove (3) 23 ‘This is the ----- of our Queen’, May hymn to the BVM (5) 24 Option for Friday main meal (7)

Alan Frost: March 2022

ANSWERS TO SPRING 2022 CROSSWORD

Across: 1 Borodin 5 Vadis 8 Quo 9 Salad Days 10 Erato 11 Pentecost 14 Sacrament 18 Roche 21 Ptolemaic 22 IDI 23 Meath 24 Zosimus Down: 1 Bequests 2 Riojas 3 Dystopia 4 Nelson 5 Vade 6 Diablo 7 So-so 12 Extracts 13 Tiberias 15 Cupola 16 Ersatz 17 Actium 19 Spem 20 Seth

Clues Down 1 Lamenting prophet and Book of the OT (8) 2 William, set up first printing press in England (6) 3 Person nominally who could be taken for oneself (8) 4 First words spoken by altar server in the Mass (2,4) 5 ‘Apologia Pro ---- Sua’, St J.H. Newman’s great defence of his faith (4) 6 Type of prayerful offering to God or Our Lady, often a candle (6) 7 Examination for cricketer? (4) 12 Allowed to speak out critically after censure (8) 13 Clover believed to be used by St Patrick to explain the Trinity (8) 15 ------ Sidonia, Andalusian city, Duke of which led the Spanish Armada (6) 16 Of the nature of a mischievous child (6) 17 Middle Ages Italian painter of such religious works as the Maestà (6) 19 & 18 Across: Replaces the ‘Asperges’ for a while in the liturgical year (4,5) 20 ‘---- retro Satana’, from medieval exorcism, ‘get back, Satan’ (4)

Entries for the summer 2022 competition should be sent to the Latin Mass Society, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH or scanned and emailed to info@lms.org.uk, to arrive before Friday 13th May 2022.

The winner of the spring 2022 competition is Mrs Geraghty from Yorkshire.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS Guild of St Clare: Autumn 2022 Sewing Retreat at Park Place Hampshire, PO17 5HA, 4-6th Nov. Booking now open on LMS website.

St Catherine’s Trust Summer School for children aged 11-17: 31 July to 6 Aug, St Cassian’s Kintbury RG17 9SR. To book see www.stcatherinestrust.org LMS Latin & Greek Residential Course, 8-13 Aug, with Fr John Hunwicke, Fr Richard Bailey (tbc) and Mr Matthew Spencer. Park Place Hampshire, PO17 5HA. St Tarcisius Server Training Days / Guild of St Clare Vestment Mending Day 21 May, St Mary Moorfields.

Please book on the LMS website for the Server Training; email lucyashaw@ gmail.com for the Vestment Mending.

In both cases all levels of skill are welcome!

Guild of St Clare: meeting at Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund, Withermarsh Green, Suffolk CO6 4TA, from 11am Sat 14th May. Please email lucyashaw@gmail.com for details.

Guild of St Clare: meeting at Manchester, 18th June, venue tbc.

Please email lucyashaw@gmail.com for details.

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Guild of St Clare: Oxford sewing group meets fortnightly on Thursday evenings. Email for further information: lucyashaw@gmail.com Guild of St Clare: Bobbin Lace for Beginners. Ongoing course, fortnightly on Thursday evenings, Oxford. Email for further information: lucyashaw@ gmail.com Online Christian Latin and New Testament Greek Courses with Matthew Spencer. For ongoing courses, email Matthew Spencer matthewjaspencer@yahoo.com

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